Celebrating everyone from grandparents and neighbours to community champions and teachers, the awards’ aim is to mark some of the wonderful day-to-day activities and achievements of Islanders who help make Jersey such a special place to live.
And in order to keep the community at the heart of the awards, Islanders will be asked to nominate potential winners and be involved in the voting and judging, via the newspaper and online.
4. Environmentalist(s) of the Year
The award:
An individual or group who has worked hard to improve our environment. It could be a company which has committed to a number of projects around the community or an individual that encourages others to do their bit. Anything that makes a difference to the Island in which we live – from a simple beach clean to a series of long-term commitments – they all matter and this award is to thank them for their continued efforts and the example they set.
The sponsor:
FOR a company with close to 45,000 customers in the Island, Jersey Electricity has worked extremely hard to reduce its carbon emissions while demand for its product has risen sharply – the environment as a whole is a big deal for the energy supplier.
Chief executive Chris Ambler makes sure that he and his colleagues focus on sustainability and that Jersey Electricity not only offers good service at competitive prices but protects the environment. But he stressed the need to make sure that the Island’s only electricity supplier remains competitively priced across the whole range of what it offers.
‘It’s quite a closely-knit community here,’ he said. ‘People are in very regular contact with one another and have multiple interactions. Therefore, reputation is very important and trust is a very important cornerstone of your reputation.
‘I have spent a lot of time in the UK, and feel to some extent the UK has lost a lot of that trust.
‘Jersey has retained a lot of that trust. People here know that repeat business and repeat interactions are very important, so people are incentivised to work well together and to build a better community.
‘Jersey Electricity is owned by the people for the people.’
WHY THESE AWARDS?
‘We were really interested in getting involved. What’s unique is effectively it will be the people of Jersey proposing the award winners and the people of Jersey who do most of the voting.
‘I think these are important assets of the awards and connect with a much broader cross-section of the community. For that reason, they are really interesting for us.’
WHY THIS CATEGORY?
‘Firstly, we need to recognise that we live on a beautiful Island and I think it is crucial that we all play our role in protecting that unique environment. Secondly, we are an energy business and I feel that we really have a responsibility to help the community to do its bit to conserve resources and protect the environment.
‘Over the last 20 years we have helped to reduce the Island’s carbon emissions by a third but demand has increased by over 40%.
‘We’d like to see others in the community who are also passionate about the Environment also get the support and recognition they deserve in helping us protect this fantastic environment and by encouraging others to do their bit.’
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THE WINNER?
‘The entry requirements are as broad as you can possibly think; they might be an influential individual, a group, school, business or organisation.
‘What we are really interested in is people or teams of people who have made a real tangible impact.
‘It could be about water-saving, energy, protecting our natural habitat, marine, coastline, endangered species.
‘But what’s important is what impact they have had; it could be an impact they themselves have had by rolling their sleeves up and getting stuff done themselves or it could be an individual who has influenced others to do the same. The key is we’re looking for people who have got involved themselves.’
- Ambassador of the Year
- Volunteer/Fundraiser of the Year
- Grandparent(s) of the Year
- Community Champion(s) of the Year
- Environmentalist(s) of the Year
- Jersey Angel of the Year
- Teacher of the Year
- Unsung Sporting Hero of the Year
- Customer Service Employee of the Year
- Young Star of the Year
- Neighbour of the Year
- and Inspirational Leader of the Year.[/breakout]
We are searching for the Islanders who make our community so special.
There are many things which contribute to make Jersey such a wonderful place to call home, from the fabulous beaches and cliff-path walks to our safe and healthy environment. They all play their part.
But above all, it is the amazing people in our community who are responsible for making this small rock, measuring just nine miles by five, stand out as such a wonderful place to live.
And that is why, as the JEP celebrates its 125th anniversary, we feel it is time to honour Islanders who make a difference, many of whom devote hours every day to make this a better place.
Often the achievements of these community heroes go unrecognised, their efforts beneath the radar of most.
Being part of that community means that the Jersey Evening Post and, more importantly, its readers, are best placed to find and honour these selfless Islanders.
It is our readers who will nominate worthy individuals and it is our readers who will be the judging panel, making the Pride of Jersey Awards unlike any others.
From grandparents and neighbours to community champions and teachers, we want to celebrate all aspects of life in the Island.
Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be featuring each of our 12 categories in detail, speaking to 12 local businesses who have teamed up with us to become our awards’ partners and, most importantly, explaining how people can start voting.
These awards will become an annual celebration of those who bind our community together and we are extremely proud to be in a position, after tewelve-and-a-half decades of serving this Island, to be launching the Pride of Jersey Awards.
