Judges draw up the Best of South Tyneside awards shortlist - and what a tough task it was

Judges have gathered to draw up this year’s shortlist in the Best of South Tyneside Awards.

And they all agreed that the standard of entries was as high as ever. They were also told that entries in some of the categories had reached record levels.

The judging process, which lasted for hours, was held to determine who will reach the grand finale on Thursday, September 19.

There were sections for everyone from Role Model of the Year to Entrepreneur of the Year. Finalists were also chosen in the Greener South Tyneside category and Fundraiser of the Year.

We have some amazingly inspirational candidates in the Child of Courage section, Carer of the Year, in the Sports category and in the Community Champion sector.

Watch out too for an outstanding Student of the Year shortlist and this year’s Community Group of the Year line-up.

And as always, all of the shortlisted contenders in the Young Performer of the Year section will get to entertain the audience at the finale before the winner is announced.

There is much more besides in a year which has revealed some amazing achievements by the people and groups of South Tyneside.

The finale for 2019 promises to be a fantastic occasion. We can look forward to it with the backing of a string of fantastic sponsors.

This year, we have the support of the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, Barbour, JML, Harlow Print, UTS, and Warmseal. We thank them all for their invaluable backing.

We will get to find out who this year’s winners are when the grand finale is held at the Roker Hotel. The Gazette will have a media team at the event to bring you full coverage of the evening.

Then, there will be a supplement with more interviews and photographs of the event and that will appear in the Shields Gazette the week after the finale.

In the meantime, watch out for a story which will detail the full line-up of our awards shortlists. It will appear in the Shields Gazette in the coming days.