Outstanding Vocational Worker - Nominees

Forty years later it has a £1.5m annual turnover, a staff of around 90 and has expanded its influence into other areas of East Lancashire.

When Geoff was 17 he was a member of Trinity Youth Club. He worked as an engineer for eight years but quit to study for a diploma in youth and community studies in Birmingham as a mature student.

He then returned to Trinity in 1972 as a full time youth and community worker employed by Lancashire County Council.

Geoff began to develop the youth club into a community group with a strong focus on the disabled.

In the early 1990s, it was renamed Trinity Community Partnership and grew rapidly as a model of community/social enterprise.

Geoff, who lives with his wife Susan in Clitheroe, now leads an organisation which provides training and employment to disabled people in Clitheroe, Accrington and Haslingden in catering, recycling and horticulture.

The organisation concentrates on social inclusion, the rights of disabled people and advocacy for young people.

Trinity also runs the cinema in Clitheroe, community transport for Ribble Valley, youth groups, out-of-hours schools clubs, IT training and is now planning a £2 million arts complex in Clitheroe.

Geoff who has two grown up sons, Andrew, 30, and Matthew, 29, often works into his own time to ensure Trinity is running smoothly.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said: "He is a tireless worker on behalf of a number of issues and clearly he has Clitheroe at his heart.

"He is hugely generous with his time and I think that nearly everyone who has anything to do with public life will have come across Geoff Jackson in their work.

"Clearly he is someone who is always looking to the future on all sorts of aspects of helping people, particularly the young and the disabled.

"He is certainly worthy of wider recognition for his hard work."

Geoff was nominated by Ava Rushworth, the youth worker in charge at Trinity, and Richard Jackson, of the Clitheroe the Future project.

The Force is with officer Tracey. TRACEY FINN is a community police officer with a difference.

Tracey joined Lancashire Police as a cadet aged 16 and became a full-time serving police officer at 18.

But at 21 she left the police force to begin a family of four with her husband Mickey, an ex-Burnley goalkeeper from the 1970s.

Then 20 years on, as a 40-year-old mother, she announced she was going to rejoin.

She was the first community beat manager to be appointed in Hyndburn in July last year and quickly made it clear to all that her role did not stop when she stepped out of uniform at the end of a shift.

In a very short time the 44-year-old has touched the lives of almost everyone in Oswaldtwistle and pioneered a role that puts her at the heart of the community.

She is involved in all kinds of initiatives and is heavily committed to social activities throughout the area in her own time.

She can frequently be found helping with fundraising activities for local schools or churches.

Tracey is also so dedicated to her role that she has often changed shifts at very short notice so that she can attend particular appointments. This has meant working until 1am and then going straight into an early shift so she can attend a school assembly.

Among the initiatives carried out by Tracey are Operation WKD which cut down on alcohol-fuelled crime in the Union Road area by clamping down on outlets which served under age drinkers; Operation Gridlock to improve road safety close to junior schools and Operation Parklife to cut down on criminal damage and juvenile nuisance in Rhyddings Park by working with Neighbourhood Watch Association and using cameras to identify troublemakers.

Leader of Hyndburn Council leader and Oswaldtwistle ward councillor Peter Britcliffe said: "Tracey has done a tremendous job for the community in Oswaldtwistle and given us a lot of support.

"Very often people who have a problem will say 'let's go and see Tracey about this'. She commands tremendous respect and is well-liked."

It's a sheltered life for grandma Pat. PAT FLAHERTY has devoted the last four years of her life to the residents of Brackendale sheltered accommodation.

The grandmother of two helps with advice on benefits, mediates with personal problems, supports and comforts tenants through difficult times, arranges group holidays and does of all kinds of other things including a special Asda shopping night with free transport, buffet and raffle, a day out at Lancashire Cricket Club and she even persuaded B&Q to give tenants a greenhouse and garden equipment.

The 52-year-old has a background in nursing and in 1980 she moved to work full-time in geriatrics at Park Lee Hospital.

After 10 years working with older people she realised she wanted to help the elderly more and decided she would become a sheltered accommodation warden to help them retain their independence.

She went 'back to school' to complete a BTEC in health and social care at Blackburn College and a distance learning BSc in education studies, psychology and maths with Sheffield University.

After that she worked at two sheltered accommodations before beginning at Brackendale - a category 2 scheme run by Northern Counties Housing Association, where residents need a bit more looking after than in her previous jobs.

Brackendale, in Albion Street, has 74 residents and Pat lives on site which means she is on call 24/7.

Pat's husband David also lives on site along with two of their three children, Daniel 18, and Matthew 15.

In May Pat was given a special achievement award by Northern Counties after being nominated by her residents who have put pen to paper once again to nominate her for the Pride of East Lancashire Outstanding Vocational Worker award.

Dean Butterworth, area manager for Northern Counties Housing Association, said: "Without doubt Pat is one of the best scheme managers we have and I can see where the residents are coming from when they nominate her for this award.

"She does a lot for residents from organising social events to keeping track of their illnesses and family situations.

"One of the things about being a successful scheme manager is the social aspect and Pat is excellent at that. She organises bingo, trips out and parties in her own time and never asks for any extra money or time off."