This award could be for someone who has done anything from the extraordinary to the very simple, or someone who has cared for their neighbours, helped them keep their neighbourhood safe or simply made a positive difference in their community.
You could be an elderly pensioner, living alone, who is reassured by the fact you have a reliable and trustworthy neighbour close by.
Or you might have a very understanding neighbour who is happy to tolerate the busy family home in which you live.
No matter where we live in Jersey, we live in a neighbourhood and the people at the heart of those communities should be celebrated.
Read about the nominations for Neighbour of the Year 2015 here:
Name: John and Marion Andre
Parish: St Helier
Nominated by: Samantha O’Driscoll
A COUPLE who will ‘drop everything’ to give a helping hand to their neighbours have been nominated for a Pride of Jersey Award.
Samantha O’Driscoll would like to give thanks to John and Marion Andre for all the things that they have done for her when she has needed it.
She says that at short notice they will be there to help her, whether it be to babysit or to help out if something goes wrong around the house.
‘They have been there for my family and foster children,’ she said.
Mrs O’Driscoll has lived next to Mr and Mrs Andre for six years and says that they have always made time for her.
When Mrs O’Driscoll went into labour, Mr and Mrs Andre dropped everything to look after Mrs O’Driscoll’s children.
Mr and Mrs Andre have baked cakes for her three children and foster child on their birthdays and will babysit for Mrs O’Driscoll if something comes up.
Mrs O’Driscoll says that they do a lot for their neighbours and are always there for her.
‘I can count on them,’ she said.
Name: Carly Bolton
Parish: St Helier
Nominated by: Mrs C Dougherty
A COMMUNITY police officer who keeps the neighbourhood safe has been nominated for a Pride of Jersey Award.
Mrs C Dougherty, who nominated Carly Bolton, says that she is a cheerful, happy-go-lucky person who cares for the people of the community.
‘She always finds time for everyone,’ she said.
‘She has a difficult job.
‘However, she always has a smile on her face and puts her best efforts into her work.’
Mrs Dougherty believes that Mrs Bolton is a good police officer who does her job well by keeping the neighbourhood safe and being kind to the public.
She says that Mrs Bolton is a great asset to the police force as she is someone who does a good job at looking after the community and the people within it.
Name: Annette Shaw
Parish: St Saviour
Nominated by: Pamela Karimjee
A NEIGHBOUR who is ‘always offering to help’ has been nominated in the Pride of Jersey Awards.
Pamela Karimjee said that Annette Shaw has been a ‘good neighbour and friend’ since 1982.
‘She calls on me several times a week, always offering to help if I am ill, does my shopping, makes up the solid fuel fire and collects medicines for me.
‘She is also always offering me lifts to the Airport and back whenever I go away or come back to the Island and while I am gone she looks after my cats, fish, house and garden.’
Mrs Karimjee also said her neighbour is not the only one who receives help and kindness from Mrs Shaw.
‘She does this for other neighbours too, and also friends and family.
‘She also does exercises classes every week.
‘Annette is always happy and smiling and a tonic to have around.’
Name: Maggie Payn
Parish: St Martin
Nominated by: Louise Brackensmith
A ‘WONDERFUL lady who brightens up the lives of those around her’ has been nominated in the Neighbour of the Year category in this year’s Pride of Jersey awards.
Louise Brackensmith says that every day her three young boys jump over their fence to visit their neighbour, Maggie Payn.
And rather than shooing them away, she keeps a tin of biscuits and sweets to share with them.
And not to be ignored when the food is being shared out, Mrs Brackensmith’s two dogs also find their way into Mrs Payn’s garden, where she warmly welcomes them with treats.
Mrs Brackensmith said that this act of kindness towards her children, as well as to many others, makes Mrs Payn a great neighbour.
She added that Mrs Payn has also helped another neighbour who was widowed.
Mrs Brackensmith said: ‘Maggie has also been a tremendous support to another neighbour, Mrs Daniels, whose husband died.
‘She always makes sure that she has company and is happily occupied.’
Name: Kate Lamy
Parish: St Saviour
Nominated by: Wilfred Bennett
AN ISLANDER who suffers from a heart condition has nominated Kate Lamy for the Neighbour of the Year Award after all the help she has given him through his illness.
Wilfred Bennett said: ‘Kate has become my first call for assistance and brings me a cooked meal every day.
‘When she arrives she always has a lovely smile, and we have a chat.
‘If I need anything doing or if I need to go anywhere, she will do it for me.’
Mr Bennett said that as well as looking after him and caring for her husband and two children, Mrs Lamy also sees to the needs of others elsewhere in the world.
He said: ‘On hearing about very poor people in Nepal who had no water supply, Kate joined a group who wanted to help, and last November she organised a fashion show at the Royal Yacht, raising £5,000 towards the project.
‘Kate works very hard to help others.
‘She is a very caring person.’
Name: Ollivier’s Farm residents
Parish: St Brelade
Nominated by: Ruth Curzon
RATHER than nominate one person in the Neighbour of the Year category, a woman is nominating a small community of people who she said has provided her with heart-warming care during her recovery from cancer.
Ruth Curzon was diagnosed with two types of cancer at the end of last year and underwent an extremely serious operation at Southampton General Hospital.
She said that on returning to the Island, she was ‘virtually helpless’, and she is currently going through chemotherapy treatment which has left her exhausted.
However, she added that her neighbours at Ollivier’s Farm at Ouaisné have rallied round and always ensure that she has a full supply of fuel for her wood-burning stove.
She said: ‘I receive home-cooked ready meals and I have people popping in all the time to make sure I am OK,’ she said.
‘If I manage to go shopping, someone is always there to carry my bags down the field to my home.
‘The care I am receiving from our small community is heart-warming and vital to my survival – and all this with ready smiles and hugs!’
Name: Sue Deans
Parish: St Lawrence
Nominated by: Neighbours
A GROUP of neighbours have put a retired nurse forward for recognition in this year’s Pride of Jersey awards for giving comfort, support and first aid to people within her community.
Sue Deans, who lives in St Lawrence, has been nominated in the Neighbour of the Year category for being a ‘huge support’ to those living around her, including Marleen Hacquoil.
Mrs Hacquoil said: ‘You don’t have to live next door to Sue Deans to experience what a good neighbour she is.
‘If she hears you need a hand she will arrive on your doorstep with a pot of soup and a sleeping bag.
‘She is prepared to stay overnight if you need her and will drive to medical appointments and do your shopping.’
As well as being there to support others, Mrs Deans also uses her experience as a nurse to provide first aid at the tennis courts or elsewhere, bringing her medical bag with her.
Mrs Hacquoil said: ‘For most of her life her energies have been directed towards helping children and their families, and not only in Jersey.
‘Her concern for orphans in Kenya led her to set up a charity there and all the children she has worked with have been helped into secondary education.
‘Now she fills every waking moment filling life to the full, and being neighbourly is a large part of her joy in life.’
Names: Rosemary and Charles McCormick
Parish: St Ouen
Nominated by: Nicola Good
A COUPLE from St Ouen who have given their time selflessly to help a woman who moved in next door to them have been nominated for this year’s Neighbour of the Year award.
Rosemary and Charles McCormick were put forward as candidates after Nicola Good felt they deserved recognition for all the ‘amazing’ help they have offered her since 2012.
She said a simple gesture of a bouquet of flowers and home-made biscuits when she moved in has become a ‘great friendship’.
Miss Good said the McCormicks especially helped her in 2013 when her mother was involved in an accident and her father died.
She said: ‘I had to go to the mainland a lot and they drove me to and from the Airport on numerous occasions and made me meals and sandwiches which were always in my flat upon my return.
‘They bring in my washing if it is raining and text me so I don’t rush home.
‘I work late evenings and a care parcel of soup is often inside my door when I get home.’
Miss Good said that when her boiler burst last week at 4 am one morning, leaving water pouring onto her carpet, she rushed next door and the McCormicks stepped in and helped her mop up the mess.
‘Their amazing moral and practical support has been instrumental in helping me get over a really tough time,’ she said.
‘They always put other people before themselves.’
Name: Janet Taylor
Parish: St Lawrence
Nominated by: Helen Bailey
A NEIGHBOUR who moved into a rented property and began to provide childcare and gardening for her landlady next door has been nominated in this year’s Neighbour of the Year award.
Janet Taylor moved into Helen Bailey’s cottage in St Lawrence after meeting her through friends at their church.
At the time she was looking for accommodation and Mrs Bailey offered to drop the price of the rent on the cottage in exchange for some cleaning work.
Not only did she honour the commitment, but Mrs Taylor also went on to provide regular babysitting for Mrs Bailey’s five-year-old twin girls and has also found time to ‘revitalise’ the garden of the cottage.
Mrs Bailey said: ‘Janet would do babysitting or just watch the girls while I pop out to the shops.
‘She has twice had sole charge of the twins, the first time for four days and the second for a week.
‘When I came back from holiday the second time she said she became determined to help me even more, including coming in at 4.30 pm every day and cooking for the children.
‘Over the last two years she has become a good friend and the best neighbour and tenant I could have.
‘Nothing is too much trouble for her.
‘She is always just a call away and I don’t know how I ever managed without her.’
Meet the award sponsor:
OPERATING in Jersey since 2001 under the ownership and directorship of Margaret Thompson, Thompson Estates has rapidly grown to become one of the Island’s leading estate agents.
Within five years the company had already tripled in size and moved to its prominent King Street offices.
Now employing 21 people, the company is proud of its workforce, who, it says, ‘promote and passionately protect our highly respected brand’.
Being an estate agent, Thompson Estates is perfectly placed to partner with the JEP on the Neighbour of the Year award.
WHY THESE AWARDS?
‘The community is very important. When I started Thompson Estates I felt it was very important to give something back,’ said Mrs Thompson.
‘This is an opportunity to recognise the efforts that the people of Jersey give towards making the community what it is. Jersey, I find, is a very very caring community.
‘I love Jersey and I am so grateful to be part of the community and to live in Jersey we are so privileged.
‘Sometimes, I think, we forget how lucky we are. Where else in the world can we live at such ease?’
WHY THIS CATEGORY?
‘We chose Neighbour of the Year because we do come into contact with a lot of neighbours, and that is very reassuring.
‘We have sold houses from first time buyers to the elderly and I can say that I have seen neighbours that have popped in with dinners for elderly neighbours or popped to the shops for them.
‘It’s so important to have a neighbour who is concerned about their neighbours.’
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THE WINNER?
‘I think the community in Jersey is very special.
‘It’s not too big so that we know the members of our community and neighbours are key to that.
‘As you go through life, you start with nothing.
‘We are privileged to have such a good standard of living in Jersey and the most important lesson is that life is about giving.
‘You have to remember that we are here to learn how to live together happily and I think giving is very much part of that.
‘We will be looking for any contribution, gesture or help a neighbour gives, no matter what size.’
THE Jersey Evening Post has created the Pride of Jersey awards to recognise and honour all aspects of community life in the Island.
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.
The categories for the awards are
- 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]
