Looking for heroes as Express & Star celebrates 150 years

Black Country Heroes aims to find those remarkable individuals who help make the region so special.

It will reward those exceptional people who work so hard, often as volunteers, to make a real difference in our communities.

The winners in a dozen categories will be revealed at the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers – Molineux – on September 23.

They are: Child of Courage Award, Future Star, Young Star, Volunteer of the Year, Community Champion, Environmental Award, Fundraiser of the Year, Uniformed Hero, Outstanding Bravery Award, NHS Hero Award and Wellbeing and Mental Health Champion.

The Express & Star's new editor-in-chief Mark Drew said: "This is a really important year for the Express & Star and we wanted to do something special to reflect that and also celebrate people who are doing so much good.

"Black Country Heroes is a great way for us to do that.

"We hope that our readers will join in by nominating the remarkable individuals that are at the real beating heart of the Black Country.

"This remarkable region has so many fantastic people, many working behind the scenes, that are going above and beyond to provide a helping hand.

"The Express & Star has been telling their stories on a daily basis throughout its 150 years and it is appropriate for us to shine a light on the cream of the crop through this special event."

The newspaper is sponsoring the Special Recognition Award.

It is intended as a tribute to the extraordinary people in our community who rise to the occasion, day in and day out, often without the expectation of recognition or reward.

The headline sponsor for Black Country Heroes is the Dudley Building Society.

The awards, the first such ‘heroes’ awards the newspaper has run since the pre-pandemic year of 2019, would not be possible without such sponsorship and that of all the category sponsors.

They are Cougar Monitoring, Enablelink, Gough Group, JJX Logistics, Lovell Homes, Sandwell College, Silvaman Group, Tara Group, Tomato Energy, the University of Wolverhampton and Varlowe Industrial Services

The Express & Star itself is sponsoring the Special Recognition Award.

Each of the awards categories is designed to find the real heroes of the Black Country who are making important contributions to our society.

Put forward your nominations now – visit blackcountryheroes.expressandstar.com

*The Express & Star Business Awards 2024, which take place at the University of Wolverhampton at The Halls on June 13 will also form an important part of the 150th anniversary year.