Inspiring Aberdeenshire 2022 opens for nominations

It has been a year like (almost) no other, and communities all over Aberdeenshire are being asked to nominate their heroes for the 2022 Inspiring Aberdeenshire awards.

The council-run awards have been taking place for 10 years and seek to celebrate unsung community heroes across Aberdeenshire. The winners are very often people who get little other recognition for their tremendous efforts.

The nominations opened today (22 Feb until 1 April) and there are eight categories against which you can nominate. The full list of categories is below along with a short description of each.

Since the last awards the Aberdeenshire community has continued to battle the global covid pandemic, has seen not one but two widespread and devastating storms (in both Arwen and Malik/Corrie) and the resilience of individuals and groups has been the key to our success in the face of all of these extreme events. It is hoped that whatever your community champion(s) have been supporting, there will be a space in these awards to recognise them.

The awards will be held via a live-stream ceremony in September 2022, with the winners then invited to a glittering civic reception following the awards.

Provost of Aberdeenshire Cllr Bill Howatson will be on the judging panel for the awards this year. He said: “Inspiring Aberdeenshire has been a fundamental and important part of Aberdeenshire for a decade. These are awards which celebrate the very thing which makes Aberdeenshire so special – it’s people. Year after year I never fail to be surprised by the quality and range of applications and I have no doubt that 2022 will be the same.

“I would encourage you all to take a bit of time to think about who has stood out for you this year. Maybe it is something who helped you during Storm Arwen, maybe it is a young person whose role as a community champion gives you hope for the future, maybe it is someone who has shown exceptional bravery in challenging circumstances. Make sure they get the recognition they deserve.”

Nominations will stay open until 1 April 2022.