St Neots Community and Business Awards 2015 

New awards programme set to showcase excellence in the town.

 A new civic awards programme to recognise the efforts and impact of local individuals, groups and organisations is set to be launched in St Neots. The St Neots Community and Business Awards 2015 will officially launch at the St Neots Christmas Light Switch on event on Sunday 30th November, with St Neots Mayor Andrew Hansard scheduled to announce details of this new programme in his speech during the event.   
 
The St Neots Community and Business Awards 2015 consists of twelve key categories to recognise achievements by individuals and community groups, highlight local sporting excellence and to showcase business excellence within the town.  The programme calls on the St Neots Community to put forward details of local individuals, groups or businesses that deserve to be recognised for their successes and impact. 
 
Speaking in advance of his speech at the St Neots Christmas Lights switch on event, St Neots Mayor Andrew Hansard said:  “We know that St Neots residents and local businesses achieve fantastic things and we are delighted to be able to showcase and reward these achievements for the first time with a dedicated awards programme for the town.”
 
The new initiative has been developed on the back of an excellent community engagement campaign for the St Neots Neighbourhood Plan earlier this year, which highlighted the high level of interest in, support for and commitment to the town from local residents and businesses.  Driven by St Neots Town Council, the St Neots Awards is truly a community led project. Partner support comes from a number of key community stakeholders, with AboutmyAreaPE19, Eynesbury Village Association, Love’s Farm Community Association, The Eatons Community Association and Think Local Magazine all proud to commit headline support to the programme. 
 
A campaign to encourage nominations and applications is due to run until Friday 20th March 2015, with entrants required to complete a simple application form to apply or nominate.  Entries will be reviewed by an independent judging panel, led by St Neots Mayor Andrew Hansard, with a celebratory awards ceremony scheduled for Saturday 25th April 2015.  
 
More information is available from the programme website www.stneotsawards.co.uk, with marketing promotions taking place across the town in the spring, as well as online at twitter.com/stneotsawards and www.facebook.com/StNeotsAwards