THERE were tears of joy and faces of disbelief as the Evening Times Glasgow North East Community Champions finalists were announced.

During a glittering ceremony at the Greater Easterhouse Supporting Hands centre last night, a total of eight nominees were crowned champions of the heat and will now progress on to the city finals in November.

The ceremony, now in its eleventh year, was described as one of the highlights of the year, with Lord Provost Eva Bollander describing the event as “inspiring”.

She told the packed crowd: “I am very proud of our city and you should be very proud of the difference you as an individual and you as a community have made.”

Royston Youth Action Group picked up the prize for the Public Services Award and, while the group were ecstatic to win the coveted prize - beating out Bridgeton Community Learning Campus and Connect Community Trust - the most important lesson for their young people was to witness the hard work and dedication of all the nominees in the room.

The group’s Richard Sherlock said: “Everybody in this place is a champion already. It’s great to be a part of something like this which allows the young people to feel inspired.

“We’re really pleased to win but everyone in the category is so deserving. We just want to do continue to do a better job and promote our organisation as well as we can.”

Among the proud winners were Sunnyside Ocean Defenders, who beat out equally deserving Chanelle Gallagher and Savannah Ross to take home the Young Award.

As previously reported in the Evening Times, 10 youngsters from the primary seven class began the #NaeStrawAtAw movement in a bid to end pollution in the sea.

The group went as far as travelling to to the Highlands where they joined forced with Ullapool Primary School.

Last night, Megan Reilly, Taylour Blackwood, Courtney Dewar, Kaci Brown, Duncan Watson and Callum Elliott, all aged 11, were on hand to collect the award – which they were “absolutely buzzing” to win.

Megan told the Evening Times: “The ocean is at the heart of our country. If it goes, then we go – it’s as simple as that – so we wanted to stick up for the creatures living there.

“We want to have a big party, like a non-uniform day with no homework for the whole school.”

Meanwhile, Glasgow East Women’s Aid had a double celebration after winning their own Health and Wellbeing category – coming ahead of Cranhill Community Gardens and YoMo Youth Health Champions – but their staff member Clare Elliot also nabbed the top spot in the Individual Award, a category she shared with Susan Wilson and Pat Ferrie.

The ecstatic women said they were “shell-shocked” to have come in top in both categories, given the outstanding work of their fellow nominees but were over the moon to have received the “icing on the cake” by taking home the prize on the same year as their silver anniversary celebrations.

The excited bunch said: “The reality is life and death that’s the bottom line.

“We work with lots and lots of people in the community to help improve the lives of high risk women and children in our centre.

“The women we see are broken and we’re trying to build that up again so it’s great to be recognised.”

Speaking of Clare, the women said: “Clare is amazing, she goes the extra mile. She’s so passionate about what she does.

“She will fight to the absolute end for women.”

Other winners include Beacon Warriors who took home the Team Award, ahead of Dennistoun Community Council, St Paul’s Youth Forum and Team Free Wheel North; Baillieston Local Problem Solving Team won the Uniform Services Award beating out group manager Joe McKay, PC Paul Ferguson and watch manager Gary Canning; Donald Adie picked up the Senior Award against Cranhill Parish Church Nearly New Sale and duo Harry Scalley and Bob Martin.

The sports award was won by Shettleston Harriers who beat Glasgow East Rugby Football Club, Glasgow Gals Cycling Club and Red Star AC for the top spot.

Evening Times editor-in-chief Donald Martin described the event as one of the paper’s favourites and took a moment to think the emergency services for their incredible response to Thursday’s Sauchiehall Street blaze.

He said: “We’re proudest of all when we’re recognising and celebrating the people of Glasgow.

“The stories that come out at the Community Champions are truly special

“They’re the tales of real Glasgow folk making a difference. They are about the people who truly make Glasgow.”

The heats for the Glasgow South and North West divisions will take place later this year before the grand final which will be held in Glasgow City Chambers in November.