AFTER hours of deliberation and working their way through more than 50 nominations for this year’s Pride of Swindon Awards, the judges have drawn up their shortlist of worthy winners.

Now the nominees have just over a month to wait to find out if they will be named as the pride of the town during a prestigious awards ceremony to be held at STEAM.

On Thursday morning the judging panel – formed of representatives from Voluntary Action Swindon, Volunteer Centre Swindon, Nationwide, Zurich, McDonalds, Swindon 105.5, Excalibur and the Swindon Advertiser – came together to debate this year’s nominees.

They faced the unenviable task of having to whittle down the entrants to just 10 teams and 14 individuals who have made the shortlist of this year’s awards.

The judges were on the look out for individuals who had gone above and beyond what was expected of them, either within a role as part of a charity or simply for the benefit of their community by being a good neighbour.

Nominations were also received for those who had put in the hours to inspire the next generation of athletes, musicians and artists to help them achieve their potential, as well as those who have quietly gone about making their neighbourhood a better place - more often than not, as an unsung hero.

Ten individual winners and six teams will now find out at the awards ceremony if they have been voted as a winner of this year’s awards, with the remaining shortlisted nominees being highly commended. Each of the winners will find lasting glory for their work when their names are unveiled on a plaque in Swindon’s Central Library later in the year.

Volunteer development manager of Zurich Community Trust Tony Martin said the judging process had been as tough as it had ever been.

“Certainly the quality is still there in the nominations we have received which underlines why we do this each and every year rather than taking a couple of years off and then doing it again,” he said.

“What these awards show us is that there are some very, very special people in this town doing some very special things selflessly for so many other people - and for all ages as well which is key.

“We were pleased with the level of nominations this year, although quality is more important than quantity. This year we did have a few more nominations for groups and teams which was nice.

“There were some really strong nominations in there that we needed to discuss, but we have got to the best of the best once again.

“Now we are very much looking forward to the awards ceremony on March 16 and getting these people along and recognising them for all of the great work that they do.”

Over the coming weeks, The Adver will be meeting some of those who have made the shortlist and discovering their inspirational stories that struck a chord with the judges.