AFTER an agonising judging session, the worthy winners of this year's tenth Pride of Swindon Awards have finally been drawn up.

But those nominees lucky enough to make it through will now have to wait more than a month until the awards ceremony to find out if they have been selected as the toast of the town.

Yesterday representatives from a number of community organisations and businesses came together to go through the list of nominees and whittle them down to those who have been unsuccessful this year, those who will receive a certificate as highly commended entries, and those who will be named as the Pride of Swindon.

On the judging panel were representatives from Voluntary Action Swindon, Volunteer Centre Swindon, Nationwide, Zurich, McDonald's, Swindon 105.5, Excalibur the Swindon Advertiser and the Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macphereson – came together to debate this year’s nominees.

Among the many nominees that the judges had to consider were selfless individuals who have given up their own time for the good of their communities, campaigners who have sought to bring about change, and community organisations that provide a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

Overseeing the judging process was head of the Zurich Community Trust Pam Webb. As her first year in the chair she said she had found the process enjoyable, if difficult to choose among some of the worthy nominees at times.

She said: "It was really humbling to see all of the good work happening across the town.

"I am born and bred here in Swindon, so it is wonderful to see so much good work being carried out in the community.

"It is often down to the good work of individuals and teams that you can really see a difference in our communities, and it is great that we are able to recognise that pride today with these awards."

There was one notable absence from this year's judging process, that of Zurich Community Foundation volunteering manager Tony Martin, who had overseen the awards since its inception a decade ago.

Tony died in September of last year aged just 61.

Determined that his legacy live on, and his involvement be recognised, the judges have planned something extra special in honour of him which will be announced at this year's awards, which will be held at Steam museum on Thursday, March 22.

All nominees who have been selected as a certificate winner, and those who have gone on to be selected as the Pride of Swindon, will receive an invitation to the awards ceremony over the coming days.

In the next few weeks leading up to the awards ceremony, The Adver will be meeting some of those who were nominated for awards in this year's process and discovering their inspirational stories that struck a chord with the judges.