IT'S nearly time to uncover the best of the West.

The final touches are underway for tomorrow night's Evening Times Community Champion Awards, celebrating the people who make Glasgow West and Central great.

Judges have waded through dozens of entries, hailing the good work carried out from the city centre to Drumchapel.

Evening Times editor Tony Carlin will be hosting the awards with Lord Provost Sadie Docherty as guest of honour.

Ms Docherty said she was looking forward to attending the event and hearing the stories of all our shortlisted entrants.

She said: "The Community Champion Awards are always something I look forward to. You get to meet great people and hear some amazing stories. It's a great privilege to be part of it."

The Evening Times works with Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Community Planning Partnership, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland and Glasgow Housing Association to reward the people making a difference in their communities.

Categories cover every- thing from the Senior Award to Young Award, Team and Individual, Sport, Public Service, Health and Wellbeing and Uniformed Services.

Tomorrow night's event honours those living in the City Centre, Merchant City, Yorkhill, Anderston, Hillhead, Woodlands, Broomhill, Partick, Hyndland, Dowanhill, Anniesland, Jordanhill, Whiteinch, Yoker, Scotstoun, Knights-wood, Temple, Blairdardie and Drumchapel areas.

We are running five special awards ceremonies in neighbourhoods across Glasgow - with a grand final in December at the City Chambers featuring our winners.

Groups as diverse as Macmillan@Glasgow Libraries, The Hospital Broadcasting Service and Drumchapel Table Tennis Club are all in the running for awards.

Four ladies are battling it out for the senior award, including Glasgow West Crime Prevention Panel and Neighbourhood Watch Association co-founder Margaret Riddell.

Better known as Greta, she has been nominated in the Senior category for her efforts in driving down crime.

Also in the senior category are Mary Bain, who has been running a weekly lunch club in her local area of Knightswood for the past eight years.

Catering for 21 members, she prepares a homemade three course lunch for £2.50 which offers friendship and company to senior residents.

Nan McGugan, in the same category, has worked in Knightswood for the last ten years running a companion club for local senior citizens and residents.

The club was in danger of closing down due to rent costs at the local church but Nan made it her duty to find new affordable premises for the club, which is now in a local care home.

The fourth lady in our senior category is Evelyn Greechan, who has made it her mission to bring the senior citizens of Anniesland together to enjoy and interact in a number of social activities.

For the past five years she has organised a 'friendship club' held at the Three Eye Centre.

Aberlour Youthpoint Glasgow, which tackles gang violence and crime by working with young people, is vying for top place in the Youth Award.

IT delivers a programme of street work and engagement activities for young people aged between 7 and 21.

In October last year the organisation began work in Whiteinch where they began consultations with local youths to discuss what is important to them.

By carrying out street work, the team was able to identify danger points and then deter youths away from this lifestyle.

In the Team Award, 3D Drumchapel, York-hill Children's Charity Tea Bar Volunteers and Epilepsy Connections Volunteer Befrienders are battling for the prize.

For the Health and Wellbeing Award, Macmillan@Glasgow Libraries is in the running against Cancer Support Scotland (Tak Tent) and The Hospital Broadcasting Service.

In the Individual Award, Linda Ann McConnell is nominated for her work setting up the Symphony of Dreams Trust, which has already earned her the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in recognition of the work of the city charity, which has fulfilled the musical dreams of more than 1000 terminally ill, sick and disabled people.

For the Public Service Award Hemat Gryffe Women's Aid, founded in 1981 as the first Asian, Black and Minority Ethnic Women's Aid Group in Scotland, is in the running.

It supports women dealing with domestic abuse, becoming a Glasgow institution providing safe refuge accommodation and through funding from the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council.

The group is up against Project Ability, which enables more than 2500 adults and children with disabilities and mental health issues to discover their creative flair.

Also in the category is Deborah Gibson, who works as a 'Better Lives' officer for GHA, working to improve the lives of local tenants.

catriona.stewart @eveningtimes.co.uk