THE nominations for this year's Citizen of the Year are:

ROGER CHATTAWAY

The name Roger Chattaway is a famous one in the town.

Not only is he the longest-serving licensee in Ulverston, starting his career behind the bar at the old Waterwheel pub 38 years ago, then latterly with the Rose and Crown and then the Farmer’s Arms.

He is also the man that makes Ulverston town centre look a million dollars every day.

But Roger sees it as a labour of love for the town he’s made home.

Ulverstonians will know Roger not only tending to the flowers and plants in the town, that has helped beautify the town and make Ulverston in Bloom, such a hit, but he’s also paid for the plants through sponsorship for the plants.

You’ll also see him walking around the town cleaning up litter and pulling out dead plants to make sure Ulverston is a place people want to visit.

He also supports the many festivals and events by providing people to help put the fences out and help put stalls up as well as providing storage space.

He said: “I make a living out of Ulverston so it’s in my own interest to make the town look nice and make people want to visit.

“When I first came to Ulverston, there were shops closing and things weren’t great. Things are definitely on the up and anything I can do to help is worthwhile.

“I’m an ideas man. I help out where I can but to have been nominated for these awards feels a bit strange.”

BILL KITSON

WHEN Bill Kitson got the call from Coronation Hall to tell him that he’d been nominated as a finalist for the Heart of Ulverston Awards, he thought it was ask him to reprise his role as a steward for the event.

Little did he know, he would be wearing a suit and enjoying the evening as a nominee rather than donning a hi-vis jacket and manning a door.

After a lifetime of public service, helping to protect children in care in both Liverpool and Cumbria, Bill now spreads his time between a number of good causes.

As well as helping out on the committee of the town’s festival and Dickensian festival, he also helps out at St Mary’s Hospice, using the skills he learned during his career helping people deal with the loss of a loved one.

He has also worked for Save the Children, helping people who had worked in Africa, and has met Princess Anne, a patron of the charity, twice to honour his efforts.

He also tends to the bowling green in town to make sure it’s in tip top condition for the bowlers.

He said: “I don’t think I’ve done anything special, but it’s only when you’re involved you realise it’s the volunteers who make the place tick.

“Being able to sit back and watch the bowlers enjoy the green gives me a great sense of satisfaction but it’s a pleasure to help out.

“I describe it as ‘unobtrusive excellence’. There’s a lot of work that goes on that people will never see but it goes together to make a magnificent whole.

“I’ve tried to make a difference in life to help people where I can and I hope I’ve done that.”

KENNY THOMAS

HE may be a Surrey native, but Kenny Thomas’s heart is very much in beautiful South Cumbria.

He’s one of those rare characters in life that will do anything for anyone and nothing is too much trouble. He wants to do good things for his community.

And there are seemingly no lengths he won’t go to in order to raise money for good causes.

He has the patience of a saint and will do anything for anyone.

And he’s always doing something zany to raise money for good causes.

He’s grown his hair to have it dyed and then shaved off.

He’s even had one half of his head shaved and the opposite side of his beard shaved off to raise money for St Mary’s Hospice.

In 2001, he cycled 300 miles back to his home town of Cobham in Surrey to raise money for a local boy who was born with his heart back to front.

He’s also done a bungee jump, a sky dive and a full body wax among other things.

Among the nominations put forward to the judging panel, the nomination said: “Kenny deserves this award because nothing at all phases him. He doesn’t care that he looks strange with dyed hair, beard, eye brows, half-shaved head and beard and all sorts.

“The whole point is so that he gets noticed and he raises more money for the cause he’s supporting.

“He’s 60 this year and we hope he can keep going as long as he can.

“He’s a real character and is heart is in Ulverston, which is so fantastic to see.

“He really deserves his nomination because he does so much for good causes.”