As our third annual Community Champions Awards ceremony draws near I want to thank you, our readers, for taking the time to make these important nominations. It shows your commitment to the unsung heroes who live in every street in every part of Teesside.
It is a privilege as your local newspaper to be able to highlight their achievements and make them known to a wider audience.
Also we are delighted to be supported by local businesses for the Community Champions Awards.
Our sponsors have been involved throughout the Community Champions campaign - both financially in supporting the cash awards to winners but also in tackling the tough job of judging the entries.
We want to honour them - and will be doing just that at a glittering award ceremony on Friday.
There the spotlight will be on the real celebrities - the people who make a difference in the community and whose lives are about putting other people first.
The Community Champions Awards embody what Tees Pride is all about. We should be shouting loud and proud about these incredible people who really do make a difference to peoples' lives. Helping to make Teesside and the wider Tees Valley regeneration area a better place to live, work and do business in.
