A SPECIAL new Pride of Jersey award celebrating the memory and legacy of broadcaster and journalist Gary Burgess will this year be given to an inspirational Islander who has selflessly stepped forward as a guiding light for the community.
The Gary Burgess Award will be presented to a person who, through their words or actions, has stood out as a beacon for the Island – leading, supporting and bringing people together through their example.
Unlike the other 14 awards at this year’s Pride competition, which has seen a record number of nominations put forward by JEP readers from whom winners will be selected following a public vote, the winner of the new honour will be chosen by Gary’s friends and colleagues in the media and announced at the awards-night ceremony on 22 September.
Gary died in January after a long battle with cancer. As well as continuing to report for Channel TV, present on Channel 103 and pen a popular opinion column for the JEP, throughout his treatment Gary shared the experience of his illness in articles and blogs and, in the process, gave hope and reassurance to many in Jersey and further afield. This and many other thoughts and experiences he discussed publicly led to the hashtag #bemoreburgess, a social media phenomenon which reflected Gary’s large following and captured the feeling many Channel Islanders shared that his insights and honesty had helped them through some very challenging times.
In an interview he recorded reflecting on his life shortly before his death, Gary said he realised that he had lived his life in fast forward, adding that as he came to terms with his own mortality he took more time to notice the magic of the world around him. He urged others to ‘take twice as long to do half as much’.
JEP editor Andy Sibcy said: ‘I discussed the award with Gary in autumn last year after he was crowned Community Champion at the 2021 Pride of Jersey awards, the climax of a very emotional awards-night ceremony. Gary helped me come up with the criteria for the award and loved the idea that others would be recognised for the work they did for the community.
‘Gary was a huge figure in the Island and had many friends across the media, not least because he used his many talents to bring something special to all of them – print, TV, radio and the digital world.’
He added: ‘The Gary Burgess Award will be presented at the discretion of the judges to an individual who has shown inspirational community leadership. They may have been someone around whom people have rallied in the face of a shared threat or challenge and who has brought people together, or who “changed the weather” or “captured the zeitgeist” in the Island through their actions for the benefit of others.
‘The criteria are flexible and can be interpreted by the judges in relation to a diverse range of people and circumstances, but the recipient should immediately feel like the right decision for those watching, an acceptance that somebody has demonstrated the “X-factor” on behalf of all or some in the Island. It’s about championing. It’s about being on the side of “the people”, about action and leading by example.’
Karen Rankine, managing director, head of news and programmes at ITV Channel Television, said: ‘Gary was such a champion of people, in every community that he was part of throughout his life. He wanted to make a difference and he did, touching many people’s lives through his journalism, kindness and energy for life.
‘It is wonderful to be able to recognise others who are also champions within our community with this very special award in Gary’s name.’
Gary’s husband, Alan, said: ‘Gary and I were both hugely touched by the warmth and love shown to him by Islanders throughout the final few years of his life, and his receiving the Community Champion award at the 2021 Pride of Jersey award ceremony was a particular highlight.
‘Being in the room that night, it felt like the people of Jersey simply wanted to say “Thank you” to Gary and recognise the contribution he had made to the community, even when facing challenging personal circumstances.
‘My hope is that this special award can similarly give the judges an opportunity to say “thank you” to deserving individuals on behalf of all of us. The potential recipient might be someone who has been nominated for or won another award that evening, but the judges could also award it to someone whose achievements or contribution to the community does not naturally fit into any of the other categories.
‘Put simply, it is an opportunity for Gary’s media colleagues to single out and tell us, their audience, a particularly inspirational story, which feels like an entirely fitting legacy for Gary.’
