We meet a few of the amazing individuals nominated for Scotswoman of Year...

We’ll be announcing the names of the finalists later this week .... but here SHEILA HAMILTON tells the stories of just a few of the remarkable women who have been nominated for the award

Jane Smith

FOR MANY years now, Jane Smith has put her all into making a difference to the lives of an often-forgotten group – young carers.

Yes, it’s her job, but she has gone well beyond the call of duty and there are hundreds of young people, and adult carers too, who owe Jane and her team at the Princess Royal Trust East Ayrshire Young Carers Centre a great deal.

As chief executive officer, Jane, 56, of Beith, who has three grown-up children of her own, is the visionary behind projects which have transformed the lives of carers.

A nominee in last year’s International Woman of Achievement awards, Jane is constantly thinking of new ways to improve the lives of carers.

She has ensured that despite their very difficult lives trying to combine school with looking after sick or disabled parents or siblings, children get the chance to have a social life and make friendships they might otherwise miss out on.

The Cottage in Kilmarnock is a base for all young carers services as well as providing therapeutic services for adult carers. Another brainchild is Dalmellington House, which has been transformed into a luxury hotel. There, carers can recharge their batteries, but it is also open to the public and young carers are given the chance to train in catering and hotel management skills as well as therapies.

This is just the start – the sky is the limit so far as Jane is concerned. After all, when she started 13 years ago the centre had only 60 registered carers, two-and-half posts and a budget of £75,000.

Now, there are 6500 registered adult carers and 600 young carers on their books. They have a budget of £800,000 to £1 million a year with a full-time staff of 22.

“We understand what carers need when they need a break,” says Jane.

Dr Margo Whiteford

DR MARGO Whiteford is an inspiration to everyone who meets her.

All her life, she has refused to be defined by the fact that she was born with spina bifida, a condition which affects the lives of more than 3000 children and adults in Scotland, leaving most paralysed from the waist down.

Margo confounded the doubting Thomases when she studied medicine and went on to become a consultant in genetics at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill.

When she was born in 1959, there was little support for families of children with spina bifida and her parents helped found the Scottish Spina Bifida Association.

Margo, now chairman of the group, has helped raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for the charity and roped in the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay as honorary patron. “She makes me feel so humble with her achievements,” he says.

Margo and her wheelchair have taken part in fund-raising races including the Great Northern Run, Ladies 10K and Great Scottish Run, but last year, on her 50th birthday, she took part in the 26-mile London Marathon alongside Gordon Ramsay.

She also helped run the Buy a Brick appeal to fund the Family Support Centre at Cumbernauld, but the charity needs more than £850,000 annually to run.

She acknowledges that her story is one that can inspire other people with a disability and change attitudes. “I would like to think that my example shows that if people have a dream, they can go for it. ”

Mary Lyden

CLYDEBANK grandmother Mary Lyden is one of those women with seemingly limitless stocks of energy who knits communities together.

She might be 76, but that is just a number to Mary – and her commitment to issues that affect her community is undiminished.

Those who know her say her strength of purpose and character shines through in everything she does, and that she is always willing to help anyone in need.

Over the years, Mary has quietly made a difference to thousands of lives with her many acts of kindness.

She is passionate about care for the elderly and has thrown herself into a campaign fighting the decision to remove 30 beds for the frail elderly at St Margaret of Scotland Hospice.

The hospice is very special to Mary. She has worked tirelessly for it for more than 56 years, and her late husband, Bill, died there last year.

Being the kind of woman she is, Mary was back campaigning just days later.

She has made strong representations to local health chiefs and Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to maintain the beds for those who have complex medical conditions and need expert care.

She believes the hospice model should be rolled out across the UK and that access to excellent end-of-life care should not be a lottery.

Mary is also treasurer of Glasgow SANDS (the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society), having joined following the tragic death of a grandson in 1996, and supports bereaved couples who have suffered the loss of a baby.

Lynn Murray

LYNN MURRAY is a survivor. When she was just 15, she lost a leg to bone cancer and endured a year of gruelling chemotherapy.

Five years ago, she had a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

But Lynn – the smiling face of the Beatson Pebble Appeal – is not a woman to dwell on the past.

Not only has she got on with her life – she and her husband, Tom, have a teenage son, Andrew and daughter, Kirsty – she combines her job as an office manager with running the charity, Think Pink Scotland, which she set up with friends to raise funds for breast cancer research.

So far, through a variety of events – including the launch of a best-selling cookbook Fantastic Recipes for a Fantastic Cause – the charity has raised £310,000.

About half of that bought vital equipment for the Pathology Department at the Western Infirmary and the rest is going towards Think Pink’s campaign to help fund a laboratory at the Beatson Translational Research Centre in Glasgow.

Always cheerful and upbeat, Lynn , now 44, was so grateful for the care and attention she received right through her diagnosis, treatment and surgery, that she was determined to give something back.

“I just didn’t want my children, nieces or grandchildren experiencing what I went through,” she says.