Sidmouth Rotarians seek 27th Citizen of Year since award began in 1985

WHEN Sidmouth scouter Brian Manwaring heard he had been made 2010 Citizen of the Year he was lost for words.

“I was gobsmacked, I just couldn’t speak,” he said, after receiving the certificate and glass bowl from The Rotary Club of Sidmouth in May.

Now, as Christmas festivities get underway, the club is once again working together with the Sidmouth Herald to seek nominations for the 2011 title.

Citizen of the Year was launched by the Rotary club in 1985 and to date there have been some 26 recipients of the title.

Competition co-ordinator Arthur Passey said: “We have had people from all walks of life in the past and people should nominate whoever they think is a worthy candidate.

“It is someone whose work deserves recognition and it will usually be someone who is dedicated to working for a charity or in a private capacity.”

Over the past few years, the club has received in excess of 250 various nominations and there is a roll of honour board listing previous Citizen of the Year winners at Sidmouth Town Council’s offices at Woolcombe House.

Readers can nominate candidates for their contribution to the town’s community, using the nomination form that will be printed in the Herald each week until Friday, January 27, 2012.

Photocopied forms will not be accepted. Completed forms should be sent in sealed envelopes marked 2011 Citizen of the Year, to Diana Bowerman, News Editor Sidmouth Herald, Fair Oak Close, Exeter Airport Business Park, Clyst Honiton, EX5 2UL. Envelopes should be marked ‘Citizen’. Closing date for nominations is Friday, February 3, 2012.