NOMINATIONS are pouring in for the annual Inspire Awards which honour women from in and around the Bolton area.
The closing date to suggest an individual for the prestigious awards is January 31 and, as organiser Gulnaz Brennan, stated: “We want to hear about all those remarkable women whose work is never highlighted.”
The awards themselves will be made at a special presentation evening at the Macron Stadium on Saturday, May 5. Last year, around 300 women attended the event when it was held at the University of Bolton and the Octagon Theatre’s Artistic Director Elizabeth Newman took the main Woman of the Year Award.
The awards, originally started in a much smaller way as part of the Women in Neighbourhoods’ project, has grown over the years.
This year, there are main awards sections covering Charity, Social, Sports, Industry, Business and Special awards. Each category is sub-divided into individual awards which include titles like Charity Volunteer of the Year, Carer of the Year, Team of the Year, Apprentice of the Year, Woman in IT Award, Woman in Housing, Senior Woman of the Year and Businesswoman of the Year.
A shortlist of finalists will be decided by a distinguished panel of judges which includes John Lord OBE who is CEO of Bolton at Home, Elizabeth Newman from the Octagon, magazine publisher Natalie Oyston, Darren Knight who is Chief Executive of Bolton Community and Voluntary Services and Bill Webster, Assistant Vice Chancellor of the University of Bolton among others.
Sponsors for the awards so far include Bolton at Home, Bolton College. This is part of lottery fund project ‘Inspire’
Commented Mrs Brennan: “I am delighted with the response to the awards.
“We have attracted a high calibre of both judges and of sponsors so far and the willingness to be involved in the awards all round is a reflection of how important these awards are viewed locally.”
She still wants to hear from local businesses and organisations who would like to sponsor categories or individual awards and help showcase the town’s unsung female heroines.