Eligibility / T&C’s.
1. In order to nominate someone, you must be a South Bucks (Gerrards Cross, Chalfont St Peter, Chalfont St Giles & Denham Green) resident aged 18.
2. To be eligible, the nominee must:
2.1. make a difference in the lives of others where;
2.1.1. this does not normally form part of their job or normally take place at their place of work unless such help goes above and beyond their paid work activities in which case an explanation will be required within your 250 word nomination (see clause 8); or
2.1.2. a volunteer goes above and beyond in their voluntary activities in which case an explanation will be required within your 250 word nomination (see clause 8).
2.2. in the opinion of the person nominating be deserving of a Rotary Local Hero’s Award;
2.3. Be a resident in South Bucks.
3. Where a nomination will be ineligible:
3.1. You cannot nominate yourself or a group that you are a founder, chair or trustee of.
3.2. Politicians or those working in a campaigning position are not eligible for nomination.
3.3. Any company sponsoring a category.
3.5. Close relatives of any such employees or those connected to the award directly or through a close relative cannot be nominated.
4. Nominating a group:
4.1. You may nominate a group that you are a part of so long as you are not a founder, chair or trustee of the group
5. Proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested for the nominator. The nominator will need permission from the nominee or the nominee's parents/guardians if the nominee is under 18 years of age.
How to nominate
6. Nominations can be made online at https://www.gxrotary.co.uk/awards#nominate2026. Please provide as much information as possible to ensure the nomination can be judged for one of the categories below. Nominations will be judged on the information supplied on the online form. Nominations must be up-to but no more than 250 words. Your entry will be judged on the translation alone up to the 250 words limit.
7. We are committed to making the nomination process as accessible as possible. Therefore, in addition to submitting your written nomination through our online form, we also welcome audio and video submissions that will be transcribed. If you prefer to nominate someone using audio or video, please note the following:
7.1. Only submissions in English can be accepted for transcription from audio or video;
7.2. The transcription will be limited to 250 words for judging purposes and judged on the transcription alone.
8. We encourage you to nominate as many deserving individuals as you wish. However, please ensure you only nominate the same person for each category once. If multiple nominations for the same individual in the same category are received from a single nominator, only the first submission will be considered. Any additional or duplicate entries from the same nominator will be disqualified.
9. Nominations must be received no later than Midnight on Tuesday 8th September 2026. Any nominations received after this time will not be accepted.
10. The Gerrards Cross & Chalfont St Peter Rotary & Gerrards Cross Community Association team may contact the nominator, the nominee, (his/her parent or guardian, where applicable) to verify facts and/or events, and whether the relevant consents/permissions have been obtained. The Rotary may share nomination information (including the name of the nominator) submitted in the 250 words with nominees.
11. The use of generative AI tools to create or develop any part of a nomination is not permitted and will lead to disqualification.
Award Categories
12. The categories and criteria to qualify for nomination and on which winners will be selected are:
12.1. Volunteer of the Year Award: Awarded to an individual who has shown extraordinary courage or selflessness - such as helping someone in crisis, saving a life, or making a major difference in a single moment of need.
12.2. Resilience in the face of Adversity Award: Awarded to an individual who has shown tremendous strength and resilience when faced with hardship either personal, business or in education. They have used the adversity they faced into a positive and shown courage in fighting against it.
12.3. The Young Hero Award: awarded to an individual under 18 or a group of individuals under 18 who have made a positive impact in their community or achieved something exceptional.
12.4. The Good Neighbour of the Year Award: Awarded to an individual who helps to make the neighbourhood a better place to live or work, either regularly or through a single act of kindness.
12.5. Sporting Hero of the Year Award: awarded to an individual or group of people who have used physical activity or sport as a way of improving the lives of those in their community.
12.6. The Fundraiser of the Year Award: Awarded to an individual who has dedicated their time, energy, or skills to supporting a charitable cause through volunteering, fundraising, or advocacy.
Judging Process
13. The Local Hero Awards Team will do an initial sift of all entries before a longlist is passed to the judges.
14. A panel of four judges (made up of 2 local community members, two GXCA representative & two Rotary representative) will review the list and select a shortlist of four finalists, if there are more than 4 nominations in the category.
15. All Winners & Nominees, will be invited to a physical award ceremony to take part at Colston Hall on Sunday 18th October 2026, where the winners of each category will be awarded. The nominees and winners will be invited to a physical award ceremony shall be responsible for all travel expenses and the Gerrards Cross & Chalfont St Peter Rotary & Gerrards Cross Community Association shall not be responsible for any other fee, expense or cost.
16. The Gerrards Cross & Chalfont St Peter Rotary & Gerrards Cross Community Association decision as to the winners is final. Whilst we do not have the resources to engage in correspondence with every individual and feedback as to the merits of a particular entry will not be made available normally, we aim to be as inclusive as possible. If you have any questions or if you have any issues in submitting or completing the form, please let us know at: info@gxrotary.co.uk.
17. The award ceremonies may be recorded, and the audio and video may be edited and used for social media.
18. The prize will consist of a trophy / certificate. There is no cash alternative and the prize cannot be sold or transferred in any circumstances. No commercial gain can be made from using or referencing the Rotary brand, the award itself or any other element of this awards process.
19. Nominees and nominators must agree to take part in any pre or post-award publicity if required.
General
20. If, at any stage during the awards process, a nominator or nominee cannot be contacted after the Gerrards Cross & Chalfont St Peter Rotary & Gerrards Cross Community Association has made reasonable efforts to do so, or the nomination cannot be reasonably verified, the Rotary reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify the nomination from the awards.
21. The Award team may undertake due diligence and social media checks of entrants to the Award. Nominators and nominees warrant they have not acted or omitted to act in a manner that will bring the Gerrards Cross & Chalfont St Peter Rotary & Gerrards Cross Community Association into disrepute. Information discovered or that may have been disclosed by the entrants themselves will inform the decision as to the selection of the finalists. Disqualification will not be automatic but the decision is in the sole discretion of the Gerrards Cross & Chalfont St Peter Rotary & Gerrards Cross Community Association.
22. The Gerrards Cross & Chalfont St Peter Rotary & Gerrards Cross Community Association reserves the right to: (i) vary these Rules, including but not limited to, opening and close times of the awards nominations and the award ceremonies; (ii) disqualify any nomination that breaches the rules, is fraudulent in any way or brings the Gerrards Cross & Chalfont St Peter Rotary & Gerrards Cross Community Association into disrepute; (iii) move nominees into another category should they see fit or not make an award if nominations don’t reach the required standard and (iv) cancel the awards, at any stage, if in its opinion it is deemed necessary or if circumstances arise outside its control.
23. Persons nominating and nominees will be deemed to have accepted these rules and agree to be bound by them.
24. The promoter of the awards is the Rotary Gerrards Cross & Chalfont St Peter & Gerrards Cross Community Association.
25. To find out how we will use your personal data please read our Privacy Notice here. If you want to withdraw your submission or request that your personal data is removed then please email info@gxrotary.co.uk. Removal of your personal data may result in your withdrawal from the Awards.