Local Legends: And the winner is...

By Dorchester People | Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 09:00

After over a month of nominations and voting, our Local Legends competition is finally over. Some truly amazing characters and stories have come to light and we'd like to offer our sincere thanks to all those who took part. It is clear from the hugely enthusiastic response to the competition that community spirit is as alive and kicking in 2011 as it's ever been.

We're delighted to announce that the Local Legend winner in Dorchester is David Watts. Congratulations David! Look out for David's picture on billboards around town soon, as well as a profile of them on this very site in the coming days. Given David's outstanding work in Dorchester, it is only fitting that they will now become the face of dorchesterpeople.

Three finalists were chosen on the basis of a public vote, after which a panel of senior media figures met to decide the winner. The judges included the Managing Director of Northcliffe Digital, Roland Bryan, and Lisa Buckingham, the Editor of the Financial Mail on Sunday, who was recently awarded an OBE for services to journalism and women's issues.

That so many talented and inspiring individuals were put forward made settling upon an overall Local Legend a very tough task. When making their decision, the judges took into account the number of votes each finalist had received along with their initial number of nominations and the nature of their work in the community.

In David, the judges found someone who demonstrated a real passion for their work and commitment to their town. It was for this reason they felt David really deserved the title 'Local Legend'.

You can watch the judges in action in the video accompanying this article, and get a taste of the lively debates that helped to decide dorchesterpeople's Local Legend!