THE panel of judges were tasked with the mammoth task of trying to whittle down entries to come up with a shortlist for the Dunfermline Press and Central Fife Times' Community Champions awards.

The aim of the awards is to reward and celebrate the people who make our communities a better place and our team from all walks of life spent hours choosing those worthy finalists.

READ MORE: Finalists for the Community Champion Awards 2023

Putting a spotlight on the panel, we start with Catherine Cockburn who is a grants manager for Fife Voluntary Action.

Born and brought up in Fife, Catherine has been with the organisation since November 2014.

Fife Voluntary Action are the Third Sector Interface for Fife, who support, develop and represent the third sector, social enterprises, represent volunteering for organisations and individuals and support and promote third sector engagement with the Community Planning Partnership.

Next up is Patricia Payne who has been in the health care industry for over 35 years, successfully opening and running the now largest single independent Care Home in Scotland.

She has a widespread and fond reputation for supporting the local community over the years including being the chair of the Fife branch of Scottish Care and a council member of Alzheimer’s Scotland.

In her personal life Patricia has won numerous ballroom dancing competitions and continues her love of dance to this day. She is a huge advocate for wheelchair dancing and a firm believe in the idea that music keeps us all young.

Community Police Constable Scott Morgan has been a police officer for 13 years. When growing up, he always wanted to make a difference in the community and help those in need.

Having started out as a response officer, he quickly realised the importance of community policing.

He is committed to building stronger relationships with local people and groups across our communities and believes that effective policing requires trust and mutual respect between police and the communities that we serve.

He said working with young people and partners in developing youth-based initiatives (Inkredible, Stop Hate, iAM, Punch Beyond, Stand Against Speeding) and leading Dunfermline Police Scotland Youth Volunteers has been the most rewarding part of his police service.

Gillian Taylor has been the CEO of the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trusts since June 2020. Before taking up the post, she worked for Fife Council as the Community Manager for the City of Dunfermline.

Gillian is passionate about carrying on Andrew Carnegie’s legacy of spreading ‘sweetness and light’ in Dunfermline, the city of his birth.

Through the Trust’s grant giving and partnership working programmes, her job brings her into close contact with groups and individuals who make a real difference to the lives of local people and she is continually inspired by the vibrant community in Dunfermline and surrounding area.

Kevin McRoberts returned to the Dunfermline Press to take on the role as editor 20 years after leaving the paper to become editor at the Alloa Advertiser.

He is passionate about promoting his home city, and the wider West Fife area, and will strive to keep the Dunfermline Press at the heart of the community.

Finally, we have Central Fife Times editor Ieuan Williams who has been explaining how to pronounce his name since 1995 and, during brief interludes, he's been writing stories and placing them on newspaper pages.

After finding form at the Dunfermline Press, he moved a few feet across the office to become editor of the Central Fife Times in 2021. After nearly two years in the hotseat, he's quietly confident he'll get it right any day now... maybe.

He said the task of choosing a shortlist was a challenging one.

"This year was my first as a judge and it was a painful experience having to decide who would have an award to take home with them on the big night," he said.

"The standard of entry was incredibly high and it was crystal clear evidence that this area has wonderful people on its doorstep. We have creative talents and sporting stars, as well as selfless individuals and those who have saved lives.

"Awards night is always uplifting and often emotional, and I would be stunned if guests don't leave the Glen Pavilion on June 15 feeling inspired by the local heroes we'll honour."

Community Champions Awards night will take place at the Glen Pavilion, Dunfermline, on Thursday, June 15. Tickets to the event are available here.