WHO should be crowned Glasgow Community Champions for 2019?

The public vote to determine the winners of the regional heats kicks off on Thursday – so it is time to get behind your favourite.

The Evening Times awards, in association with Glasgow Fort and supported by our other partners Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Community Planning Partnership, Glasgow Housing Association and Trades House of Glasgow, celebrates everything that is great about the city and its people.

This year, for the first time in the longrunning event’s history, Evening Times readers will determine who triumphs in each category in the north west, north east and south of the city.

Yesterday, we announced the finalists for the Team, Individual and Public Service categories - over the next two days we will be unveiling the rest. On Thursday, all details of how to vote will be revealed. The winners will go through to the Grand Final at Glasgow City Chambers on December 6.

Today, meet the finalists for the Uniformed Services, Senior and Young categories.

The contenders for the Uniformed Services Award are Red Watch at Maryhill Community Fire Station (north west) who fundraise and support local kids with additional needs; and tireless fundraiser Brian McPhee, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the lifesaving Glasgow Paramedic Crew and Steven Morrison of Scottish Fire and Rescue, who pioneered a fire safety talk tailored for members of the deaf community. in the north east.

Read more: Glasgow Community Champions: Vote for your favourite

The dedicated team at HMS Dalriada, Glasgow’s Royal Naval Reserve unit based in Govan; Police Scotland’s Gorbals Local Problem-Solving Team, who have worked hard to transform relationships between residents and young people in the area; PC Brian Watt, who set up a successful young people in sport programme in Priesthill and Househillwood, helping teenagers to achieve their potential and a community rebuild relationships with the police; and Sarah Everett, the nurse who set up Men’s Shed Govan, are the finalists in the south.

The Senior Award finalists in the north west are the friendly Lunch Club Volunteers at Queens Cross Housing Association, who run a range of services to help older people in their community beat isolation; Mohammad Razaq of West of Scotland Regional Equality Council, who has volunteered on the community council and many other organisations and groups in Maryhill to build neighbourhood relations; Sadie Gordon, the driving force behind Possilpark Children’s Summer Camp, which has helped countless young people over the last 30 years; and the Yellow Shirts at Springburn Parish Church, which organises Musical Memories Springburn. 

In the north east, Elizabeth Arbuckle of The Trussell Trust’s Glasgow North East Foodbank, who goes above and beyond her remit to support people, and the Wheatley Livingwell Tenants, who give up their time to run classes and shape the services on offer to residents, are vying for the title; and in the south, the four contenders are Annie Morgan of the Govan Craft Cafe run by Impact Arts, much-loved and respected stalwart of Pollokshaws and Eastwood Community Council, Bill Carson; community campaigner Elspeth Millen, recently retired chairperson of Elderpark Housing after almost a quarter of a century of success; and inspirational volunteer and campaigner Munir Choudry of Pollokshields Development Agency.

Read more: Search is on for community heroes

The Young Award North West finalists are the teenage mentors at Acting Up, who support the younger members in a range of drama initiatives; Mariya Javed, who set up charity Another Star in the Sky to raise money for research into rare conditions; and the S6 Charity Group at Jordanhill School who have raised more than £18,500 for a local family support charity; in the north east, the contenders are Bolt FM Zambia Young People, Scotland’s longest-running youth-led radio station, hardworking volunteer Katie Monaghan of Scottish Sports Futures and inspirational youth work volunteer Keigan Bain of The Pavillion; while the Govan High Gardening Team, who transformed an unloved courtyard into a stunning Japenese garden and sports ambassadors SAPC Young Leaders are in the frame in the south.

Details of how to vote will be revealed in Thursday’s Evening Times, on our website www.eveningtimes.co.uk and through our social media channels.