This is a project I am so proud of. For five years, I have project managed Eagle Radio’s Local Heroes, a multi-faceted radio campaign searching for local people who do amazing things. It ends with a glitzy award ceremony at Guildford’s G Live entertainment venue. Since I took on the project, over 60 people have been recognised in a variety of categories including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Teaching Award and Young Person Award. A host of stars have helped us celebrate over the years including Melanie C, Scouting for Girls and Texas. I decided this year that it would be the final year for me to take the lead on the project, allowing someone else to add a fresh twist to this fantastic, community initiative. Every year, Local Heroes has become bigger and better, and the 2017 ceremony was the slickest and most emotional of all of the events we have put on.

Some of the stories were truly heart wrenching, and I was proud of the way that we delivered in the most sensitive and respectful way we could. Below are examples of the stories we told this year. We recognised fundraiser Charlie Norton, who used his own grief to help others. Mustard Seed Autism Trust were recognised for the incredible work that they do in the local community. We also remembered the achievements of two hugely promising young athletes who were taken from us far too soon.

Local Heroes has certainly been one of my career highlights to date, and I’ll always be proud of what we achieved over the past 5 years, but now is the right time to hand over the baton to someone else to take the campaign on to even greater heights.