THREE past winners are urging people to make nominations for this year's Pride in the Community Awards.Janet Ellis, Zoiyar Cole and Jill Eaton have each won the Pride in the Community Champion Award.

THREE past winners are urging people to make nominations for this year's Pride in the Community Awards.

Janet Ellis, Zoiyar Cole and Jill Eaton have each won the Pride in the Community Champion Award.

They are currently supporting on an exhibition at the Ferini Gallery, Pakefield, which is raising funds for the Palliative Care East Appeal.

The exhibition at the gallery in All Saints Road, Pakefield, features artwork on a butterfly theme with work donated by local artists.

The butterfly is the symbol of the Palliative Care East Appeal and the exhibition is open from 11am to 4pm this weekend including Bank Holiday Monday.

Paintings at the exhibition are being sold in aid of the appeal.

'This appeal is very important to us but so are the Pride in the Community Awards,' said Janet.

'We would like to encourage Journal readers to participate in nominating local people for these awards.

'It is wonderful to see the work that so many people do in our community that would otherwise go unnoticed,' she said.

Nominations are flooding in to our offices for all the different categories.

Len Jacklin has nominated former deputy head of Lowestoft's Benjamin Britten High School Mike Holroyd in the Community Hero category.

'Although now 70 years of age Mick still has a keen interest in education. As recently as April this year he took classes in a high school enterprise.

'He assisted young people put together last year's historical pageant in which a large number of organisations took part. Mike is currently working, helping youngsters use multi-media to document Lowestoft's history,' he said.

A keen rower, Mike also encourages youngsters to take up this healthy sport.

'Mike is also involved in the attempt to ensure the future of the Marina Theatre seeking to ensure its role as a vital part of the community,' said Mr Jacklin.

The Pride in the Community Awards are a partnership between the Lowestoft Journal, Beccles and Bungay Journal, and Pleasurewood Hills, to give thanks to those leading lights in our lives.

The awards are beig held on Tuesday, July 13, at Pleasurewood Hills, in Leisure Way, Lowestoft, in the form of a summer garden party after the closure of the park.

All shortlisted nominees and their families will be treated to a delicious buffet and drinks prepared by the park caterers, which will be served by the lake.

A spectacular free performance of the summer show Circus and Street Arts will follow in the Castle Theatre before the presentation of the awards by Pleasurewood Hills manager Alexis Camelin and Lowestoft Journal editor Max Bennett.

Our sponsor Pleasurewood Hills, established in the early 1980s, is proud to have been part of the community for 27 years and is a key part of the region's heritage.

The park also supports many local businesses who supply a range of goods and materials. This commitment to the economy and the people that live and work in the area will provide genuine value to the awards and the community. Having won the Best Visitor Experience 2009 award at the Tourism in Suffolk awards, it only re-iterates the point of working together to continue the shared community partnerships.

We are looking for selfless individuals or groups who work quietly to achieve their goals and help others without every expecting anything in return.

To nominate someone for one of the nine categories fill in the entry form. Entries close on Thursday, June 10.