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Two major events will be hosted in April 2007 to honour County Sligo’s many volunteers who work tirelessly for their communities.

In May Cathaoirleach Councillor Jim McGarry will welcome people to County Hall for Sligo County Council’s seventh Cathaoirleach’s Awards ceremony.

The Cathaoirleach’s Awards Scheme was devised to reward the many ‘unsung heroes’ in our community, and the Awards Committee will shortly be examining the various nominations to select the category winners.

Joining Councillor McGarry on the committee are: Councillor Aidan Colleary, Councillor Ita Fox, Councillor Gerry Murray, Councillor Joe Queenan, Fergus MacNabb, Senior Executive Officer, Sligo County Council.

The award categories are:

The Cathaoirleach noted that ‘The award categories encompass a wide area of voluntary activity, and I feel that there are many people throughout County Sligo who are fully deserving of an award. The awards ceremony provides an ideal platform for Sligo County Council to convey our appreciation to our dedicated volunteers for their work on our behalf.’

Pride of Place is a regional/area specific competition which celebrates and showcases community group activities and contributions to society. The focus is on people coming together to shape, change and enjoy all that is good about their local area. Too often, the tremendous time and effort that people put into community activities on a purely voluntary basis is overlooked.  This competition is unique in that it recognises and rewards people for their vital contributions to their local community.  In hosting this competition Sligo Local Authorities will acknowledge and reward any community or area engaged in ongoing or recently completed projects which foster awareness and enhancement in the locale, promote civic pride and encourage full community participation.

In order to ensure maximum participation, the competition is divided into the following categories:

During April, the Sligo Local Authorities’ judging committee will carry out an assessment of the entries received and a maximum of five groups may be subsequently selected for entry into the All Ireland Pride of Place competition.

The Cathaoirleach Councillor Jimmy McGarry hosted a reception for volunteers serving with Sligo’s emergency services.  Representatives of County Sligo Civil Defence, Order of Malta, Sligo Sub Aqua Club, Sligo Mountain Rescue and RNLI convened in County and were honoured by the Cathaoirleach for their ‘brave and courageous service to the County Sligo community over many years.’