Sixteen people and six businesses are the "cream of the crop" for the Central Otago awards this year.
The finalists for the Central Otago District Council's annual awards were announced this week, council brand manager Shirley Howden said.
"These annual awards are about celebrating and honouring those businesses and individuals who are our champions, and this year we received a good number of entries across a range of award categories," Mrs Howden said.
The winners will be announced on Wednesday, September 30, at a special function to be held in Ranfurly.
The director and founder of Icebreaker, Jeremy Moon, will be the guest speaker.
The awards are divided into six categories.
Finalists in the apprentice section are Morgan Boyd, Samuel Mitchell and Kurt Verduyn, all of Alexandra.
The youth award finalists are Carl McNulty (Cromwell), Kate Willyams and Rosie Whiting (Alexandra), Margot Streeter (Cromwell), Rowan Tumai (Roxburgh) and Willie Miller (Ranfurly).
The community service award finalists are Hazel Harrison (Naseby), Joanne Rae (Millers Flat), Linda Armstrong (Becks), Stewart McKnight (Ranfurly) and Ruth Reid (Alexandra).
Two people will vie for the brand ambassador's award: Matthew Sole (Omakau) and Ray Carey (Alexandra).
Cromwell Pharmacy, Terrace Distributors (Alexandra) and Trail Journeys Ltd (Clyde) will compete for the business excellence award.
Central Gold Motel (Cromwell), Cromwell Top 10 Holiday Park and Wedderburn Cottages are finalists for the tourism award.
