Nominations open for 2018 People of Dover Awards

The search is on for people in Dover who make a positive difference to the town in various ways.

The categories for the 2018 People of Dover Awards have been changed from previous years, to open up the awards to different sections of the community.

The awards were launched by Dover Town Council in 2013 to honour individuals, groups and businesses whose commitment, sense of community and personal involvement help to make Dover a great place in which to live and work.

People are being asked to nominate those who have gone the extra mile for the benefit for others, or have helped make life better.

This year's categories are best local employer, best teacher, happiest neighbour, best local entertainer, hyper helper and best ongoing event or project in the town.

The first category could be for a good employer who makes their employees feel more valued and more effective in their work, or who has a positive company culture, or enables employees enjoy their work.

For the first time there is a category reward good teachers, and the organisers say they are looking for an exceptional educator whether they are teaching in the classroom, out at sea, in a studio or in the home.

The happiest neighbour award is designed to honour people who make others smile, or who greet them with a joke or a kind gesture, someone who goes out of their way to help with errands or taking in parcels.

The best local entertainer category covers individuals or groups who always put on a good show, locally, while the hyper helper could be someone who works in a shop, drives a bus, delivers the post or is a receptionist at a doctor's or dentist's, but who, again, goes the extra mile to ensure that their customers receive the best service.

The final category is to find someone who organises regular events in the town or is master-minding a project that benefits the community.

The people nominated do not have to live in Dover but the contribution they have made must have benefited either Dover town or its residents.

The closing date for entries is Friday 2 March 2018, after which nominations will be shortlisted and put to a public vote to select the winners.

An electronic nomination form is available at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PODA2018