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Tees Valley Villages Urged to Enter Community Competition

Villages across Tees Valley with a population of 5,000 and under are being reminded not to leave it too late if they want to enter the county's 2007 Calor Village of the Year competition, with the deadline for entries coming up at the end of July.

The competition is organised by Tees Valley Rural Community Council (TVRCC) with sponsorship provided by Calor - the UK's leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). Entries are invited from any representative group within a village and entrants are judged on six categories covering Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, Environment and Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Competition co-ordinator on behalf of TVRCC, Fiona Chesters commented: " I want to encourage as many villages as possible to get involved in this competition. We're not looking for 'perfect' villages so don't be afraid to have a go. Entering the competition can be a very positive activity for a community because often villages don't realise just how much they've got going on until they actually collect the information together. The closing date is approaching, but there is still time for villages to enter if they act now."

Later in the year the overall winner in Tees Valley will have the added honour of being nominated to go forward and represent the county in the prestigious Calor Village of the Year® for England competition 2007/8. This will give them the opportunity of gaining recognition at national level as well as a share of a prize fund totalling more than £36,000. The county's nominee to the 2006/7 national competition, Stillington, was visited by competition judges during April and will soon find out if it's been awarded any prizes in the competition.

For further information on the Calor Tees Valley Village of the Year competition and entry forms please contact TVRCC on 01642 213852, email tvrcc@btconnect.com. The deadline for entries is Tuesday 31 st July with judging of shortlisted villages taking place during August. A presentation event for successfulentrants will be held later in the year.

For general information about Calor Village of the Year® visit www.calorvillageoftheyear.org.

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Further press information available from: Emma Flinn, Connectpoint, tel: 0161 817 4221, email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Calor Village of the Year®

Calor, the leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) to those living and working in the countryside, has supported rural activities in England, Scotland and Wales for 20 years through its Rural Sponsorship programme, which includes the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition.

The Calor Village of the Year® for England competition, now in its eleventh year, was founded and developed by Calor, and is organised and funded by the company on an annual basis.

Please note that Calor Village of the Year® is a registered trademark and should be referred to in full in all circumstances.

Entry to the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition is through the existing county competition network. Every year, Calor sponsors the majority of the county village competitions – which this year total more than 40 – each of which is invited to nominate one village to take part in the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition.

The national Calor Village of the Year® judges look for well-balanced, pro-active, caring communities which, irrespective of size, have made the best of local opportunities to maintain and enhance the quality of life for all residents.

The prize money for the 2007 national Calor Village of the Year® for England competition alone stands at over £36,000. First prize is £7,000 with £2,000 going to each of five regional winners. In addition, there are five category prizes of £500 within each region (covering Business, Environment, Care for Older People, Care for Young People and Information Communications Technology), and a prize of £750 for the winner of the Building Community Life category in each of the five regions. The five regional winners of the Information Communication Technology category are judged to find an overall winner, the award for which is £1,000. There is also, thanks to support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a prize of £2,000 for an overall Building Community Life winner, which is selected from the five regional winners.

For general information on the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition:
email: info@calorvillageoftheyear.org or visit: www.calorvillageoftheyear.org

For all media enquiries relating the Calor Village of the Year® competition, please contact Emma Flinn:
email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk or tel: 0161 817 4221

For all general enquiries relating to the Calor Village of the Year® competition, please contact Brian Challis: email: b.challis@ntlworld.com or tel: 01962 629768

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