IT was a night for winners as individuals and groups who have made their mark in the Basingstoke area were honoured at the first-ever A Place to be Proud of Awards.

The inaugural event - which was launched six months ago - culminated on Tuesday, March 23, with a special awards ceremony in Festival Place.

The award-winning shopping and leisure complex was an innovative and successful choice of venue for the grand final of a prestigious event that was created with the twin aim of celebrating local achievement and raising the profile of Basingstoke and Deane as a place to be proud of.

Gazette Newspapers, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Festival Place and the Local Strategic Partnership have been the driving forces behind the awards.

These organisations were involved in sponsoring three of the awards categories and other vital sponsorship support in four other sections came from Consolidated Global Resources, The Hampshire Clinic, Wella, Basingstoke College of Technology and Queen Mary's College.

Representatives from the sponsors, their guests and civic leaders joined the finalists for this week's awards night, which was hosted by Dr Hilary Jones.

The high standard of nominations meant the panel of judges had a tough task selecting the finalists for each of the sections. However, one thing was certain about all the candidates who were up for honours - every one was a worthy winner.

Specially-made engraved glass stars and certificates were presented at the awards ceremony, and all the winners and highly commended entrants came forward to take a bow.

While it truly was a night to remember for all the finalists, one man in particular was the centre of attention. George Potten, who has triumphed over adversity to win the Good Citizen category award, received a standing ovation for a moving speech he had written and which was read out by Dr Jones.

At the end of the evening, Gazette Newspapers editor Mark Jones thanked everyone involved in the awards, including sponsors and those who had taken time to nominate entrants.

He told the audience: "The A Place to be Proud of Awards will become an annual feature of the Basingstoke and Deane calendar and, next year, we will be putting the spotlight on more people and organisations who will be deservedly taking home an award.

"On behalf of everyone involved in the awards, we hope all the finalists enjoy their deserved success and we urge everyone here to keep spreading the word that Basingstoke and Deane is a place to be proud of - because it is!"

Article first published on Thursday, April 1, 2004