The Neighborhood Council prepares the award to recognize the work of the Exemplary Neighbor

Benidorm Neighborhood Council has reactivated the Exemplary Neighbor award to distinguish Benidorm residents whose behavior can serve as a model of coexistence for the rest of the citizens. The Councilor for Citizenship Participation, Ana Pellicer, presented this Thursday the new call for the award, the last edition of which was held in 2019, accompanied by the first and second vice presidents of the Council, Antonio Zamora and Francisco Martínez, and the counselor responsible for the commission of this award, Teresa Garrido.

Pellicer is very satisfied with the recovery of this initiative “which focuses on the best of who we are, on the best of our society, on solidarity and selfless work and for people and general service.”. Likewise, the councillor of Citizen Participation described as “beautiful and endearing” this recognition of “the trajectory of people who have left their mark in the service of citizens and our society, in which personal, civic and ethical values come together.” outstanding and notable, and who have been or are at the service of the city", to which is added the fact that "it is the citizens themselves who elect them, hand in hand with the Neighborhood Council and each of the associations."

With the call for this new edition to elect the Exemplary Neighbor 2023, any citizen who wishes to present candidatures may do so between September 1 and 30, registering the form for this purpose at the offices of the Neighborhood Council or the Department of Citizen Participation. The proposal must be endorsed by the signature of three people, add all the data of the proposed neighbor as a copy, a photocopy of his/her ID, as well as a text detailing the merits that this person would have and that would make him/her worthy of this recognition. as Ana Pellicer has highlighted.

Teresa Garrido, the person in charge of the Exemplary Neighbor Commission of the Neighborhood Council, delved into the requirements included in the bases, among them that any citizen of any nationality can be elected, as long as he is registered in Benidorm. Likewise, Garrido explained that in granting the prize, the actions carried out by the proposed person that are related to "respect for people, solidarity, peaceful coexistence and tolerance among citizens, solidarity, dedication and personal improvement along with sacrifice, will be valued."  

Of all the applications submitted until September 30, the Neighborhood Council will select three finalists, as they are the most appropriate or those that best fit the content and purpose of the award. Next, the three finalists will be submitted to the verdict of a jury, who will have the final say in choosing the Exemplary Neighbor.

This jury will be made up of five “significant” people, chosen by the Neighborhood Council Commission, all of them residents of Benidorm and unrelated to any candidacy,” added Garrido. They will also be joined by exemplary neighbors who have won awards in previous editions. The president of the jury will preferably be the oldest member among the exemplary neighbors from previous years and will also have a casting vote to be able to break the tie in the event of a tie.

The first vice president of the Neighborhood Council, Antonio Zamora, explained that the members of this body had the purpose of recovering the award of this distinction, the last edition of which was held in 2019 and which was suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic. “The health situation due to the pandemic did not allow for meetings or events, and once the Council positions were renewed, the objective was to reactivate this award and it has been achieved.”

Finally, the councilor Ana Pellicer encouraged all citizens to participate by presenting their candidacies and hoped that this edition “will be as successful as the previous ones”, after which she recalled the list of Benidorm residents who since 2011 have received this distinction: in 2011, Francisco Fenoll Rostoll; in 2012, Antonio Gonzaga Picó; in 2013, Francisco Alvado Barber; in 2014, Carmen Cerdá Garrido; in 2015, María Rosa González Mata-Rubio and Juan José García Albarrán, posthumously; in 2016, Casimiro Vila Esteban; in 2017, Eusebi Chiner Vives; in 2018, María Zaragoza Lloret and, finally, in 2019, the winner was Jesús Rosillo Jiménez.