The judges’ decision is final – but that did not stop some lively debate as this year’s Gazette and Uxbridge College Local Heroes Awards winners were picked.
Now the panel’s lips are sealed as tightly as the envelope in which the results are stored, ready for the gala awards night on June 5 at the college’s Hayes campus.
The mayor and mayoress of Hillingdon, Councillor Allan Kauffman and Mrs Lynne Kauffman, plus Uxbridge College principal Laraine Smith OBE, and the news editor of the Gazette, Alan Hayes, closeted themselves a the college this week to decide who should be named Superhero of Hillingdon for 2014, and take the £700 top prize.
“We also had to pick five Heroes from the two categories of adult and child, each winning £500, five runners-up who get a £50 prize and a number of Highly Commended nominees, from a large pot of excellent quality entries. Not easy!” said Alan Hayes.
The toughest part of the judging was deciding between, for example, a dedicated volunteer or a tenacious fundraiser.
“How do you say which one is better?”, asked the mayor. “They are both so worthy of recognition, and we have had to make some really tough decisions today.”
For the Kauffman’s it was a delightful second bite of the cherry: because of the local elections on May 22, the mayor’s term of office is extended by a few weeks, allowing him to sit as a Local Heroes judge two years in a row.
Ms Smith said: “Every year Local Heroes highlights the work of people quietly doing amazing things across the borough and, so often, not expecting any reward or recognition. “The competition gives them a chance to see themselves through the eyes of others as the champions they really are.
“I would like to thank everyone who entered their friends and family into the competition this year, and say how impressed we were with all the entrants, whether they have been chosen as winners or not.”
