IT'S time to send us your nominations for Scotswoman of the Year 2009, which is again sponsored by the Evening Times and St Enoch Centre.

IT'S time to send us your nominations for Scotswoman of the Year 2009, which is again sponsored by the Evening Times and St Enoch Centre.

The 47th holder of the title Scotswoman of the Year, plus the Scots Businesswoman of the Year and Scots Sportswoman of the Year will be announced at a dinner in the magnificent banqueting hall of Glasgow City Chambers on January 28, 2010.

Today, we print some of the first nominations to come in but we know that there are many more inspirational women out there - in all three categories. Tell us about the women who have inspired you with their courage and strength, their passion and commitment.

Susan Nicol, General Manager of St. Enoch Centre said: "Each of the contenders for this year's Scotswoman of the Year Award is a winner in their own right. It is sure to be a very memorable and emotional night for everyone, and it will be an honour to meet each of these inspiring women who have worked so hard to make a difference."

It's easy to nominate your heroines. You can write, e-mail or log on to our website or fill in the form.

SCOTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR NOMINEE: EILEEN GRANGER

PRESTWICK mum Eileen Granger could sit at home and fret about the future, but instead she's out there working hard for the charity which helped in her time of need.

As a baby. her six-year-old Ross was diagnosed with bi-lateral Wilms' tumour, a rare cancer of both kidneys. Massive tumours the size of a drinks can were removed and he survives on just half a kidney.

Outwardly, Ross is a happy, healthy little boy, but the latest kidney function test has not been encouraging and he may need a kidney transplant at some stage.

Eileen refuses to brood about 'what ifs' and the glass is always half full as far as she is concerned.

As soon as Ross was able to do without constant care, she started fundraising for CLIC Sargent, the UK's leading cancer charity for children.

She began by writing 'Ross, A Little Miracle', a moving portrayal of the ordeal so many parents of little cancer patients go through.

The book raised £10,000 and in the past few years, Eileen and husband Shaun, both 39, have raised a staggering £200,000.

Eileen never stops. She is always coming up with new schemes to raise cash. Next year, to celebrate Ross being in remission for five years, she plans to organise one charity event a month with the aim of raising the magnificent total of £250,000 by the end of the year.


SCOTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR NOMINEE:
KERRY-ANN HINDLEY
EAST KILBRIDE woman Kerry-Ann Hindley is an inspiration to anyone who feels they have hit rock bottom and that there's no way back up.

Just seven years ago, Kerry-Ann, now 31, was living in hostels for the homeless in Glasgow. All her belongings fitted into a hold-all.

One night, she was so desperate she walked the seven miles to her former childhood home in East Kilbride and ended up sleeping rough in a close.

But this summer, Kerry-Ann was on top of the world when she won a national award - the Lesley Pearse Woman of Courage Award.

It was a fantastic tribute to the way in which Kerry-Ann has turned her own life round and is now dedicated to giving young people the confidence she herself lacked when younger.

She started out on her new path by volunteering with the charity, Raleigh International, and spent three months in Namibia in 2003, trekking across the desert and helping to build a cultural centre and playground.

After taking an HNC course in social care at South Lanarkshire College, Kerry-Ann got a job as a youth worker with South Lanarkshire Council at the college, acting as a mentor and guide to pupils.

She is also proud to be commander of 2 Troop Scots Dragoon Guards Detachment of the Glasgow & Lanarkshire Battalion ACF.

"It's been a very good year for me and just to be nominated for Scotswoman of the Year is wonderful. But what means an awful lot to me is that our detachment has been asked to carry the colours on Remembrance Day and that's never been done by a woman before."

Kerry-Ann had help to change her life, but she was the one with the grit and determination to take it and really make something of her life.
SCOTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR NOMINEE:
EILEEN ADAMS
FOR the past 25 years, Glasgow gran Eileen Adams has been coaching elite Scottish swimmers to success on the national and international stage. She had been coaching in Aberdeen since 1993, but this year, Glasgow managed to entice her back home as performance coach for the City of Glasgow Swim Team.

With the Commonwealth Games on the horizon, the city needs the best and Eileen is recognised as such.

She had already proved her worth after being seconded to Glasgow for a year - during that year, the city moved from 10th to third in Scotland. Eileen had campaigned in vain for a 50ft pool for Aberdeen and the lure of the Olympic-class pool at Tollcross, venue for the Commonwealth Games swimming in 2014, was too much.

Eileen, 56, a mother of three and a grandmother, was brought up in Mearnskirk near Glasgow. She took up coaching when she took her own children swimming and "realised that people didn't know what they were doing".

She has travelled all over the world to provide her swimmers with the best possible preparation for the big events.

"I'm just an average mum who got bitten by the bug," she says. "My passion is for coaching. It's exhilarating."

She is completely dedicated. "You don't get up at 4.30am for training if you don't love what you do," she says. "The day I stop loving it is the day I'll stop."
BUSINESSWOMAN OF THE YEAR NOMINEE:
KAREN CAMPBELL
YOUNG Newton Mearns mum Karen Campbell has reached the top at a dizzying speed and is the youngest female CEO in Scotland.

The 33-year-old is chief executive of the £330 million Maxim development, the UK's largest speculatively-built office park, based at Eurocentral on the M8.

"It has made everybody sharpen up," she says.

"This is a new business destination for Scotland and we'll be creating over 8000 jobs which are fundamental to the Scottish economy," she promises. "It will put Scotland on the map."

Karen has extensive experience in master planning, developing and letting large-scale office and industrial schemes throughout Scotland including Skypark, Central Quay and the Nova Technology Park.

"Everyone I've worked with have been very good mentors and have taught me how to be dynamic in business," she says.

"But I would say I have had to work harder and be smarter to demonstrate that women can be as good in business as men."

"I've always given 100% to everything," she says. "Work, fitness and family."

The most important member of the family is four-year-old Reiss.

"I work hard for my son and hope to make him proud of me," she says.