In 2007 at its Sheffield meeting, the British Society of Gerontology established the Alan Walker Prize in recognition of the massive contribution Alan has made to British and international Social Gerontology. With his warm support and encouragement, we have made this an annual competitive award supported by nominations from the members of the British Society of Gerontology (henceforth the Society). A small judging committee for the purpose of making the award has been established, chaired by Alan Walker and comprising the President, Past-President and President-Elect of the Society; Tom Owen (Help the Aged); Andrew Harrop (Age Concern, England); Jim Soulsby (formerly Older and Bolder, NIACE) and Tony Maltby (BSG) who will act as Secretary to the committee. We shall hope to expand the committee in the near future.

It is intended that the award be made to an individual or organisation that, in the opinion of the judges, has made a significant and lasting contribution to British Social Gerontology (see the article for the 2008 award in this issue). This might be through for example, campaigning, teaching, lobbying, service provision, fundraising, journalism and research. In particular, the award is made to an individual or organisation that has made a significant impact on the policy process and by this helped improve the quality of life of older people. So it is not intended for an academic contribution alone.

Nominees do not have to be current members of the Society but will be encouraged to join. In the unlikely event that the committee agree that none of the nominees meet the criteria of the award they then can make an award outside of the nominations received. The judges’ decision will be final and they will not enter into any communication about that decision. Nominations should be made on the appropriate form by three individuals one of who MUST be a fully paid up member of the Society and sent to the secretary of the judging panel (Tony Maltby) by the advertised date. Please ensure your nominee has your permission to nominate him or her.

Nomination forms can be downloaded from the Society’s website at http://www.britishgerontology.org/index.asp?PageID=100, or are available from Dr Tony Maltby, NIACE, 21 DeMontfort St., LEICESTER, LE1 7GE, and marked BSG, Email: atmaltby@tiscali.co.uk.

Completed forms must be with the secretary to the awards committee. Tony Maltby no later than 12:00 (noon) on 16th June 2009. Any received after this time will be deemed invalid.