It will probably help both retailers and customers alike to know exactly what we are looking for in this competition and what we really need to know about each retailer in order to judge them fairly. Below are the guidelines that the national judging panel works to - sparking quite passionate debate along the way!

These are merely guidelines, not an exhaustive list, and please remember that the two "tests" of this competition are "community values" and "commitment to produce or skill". Also remember that it is the quality of the nomination that will initially catch our eyes, so "I nominate Bob because his sausages are the best" won't really cut it - tell us why Bob's sausages are the best - is it because they are made from locally reared, locally slaughtered pigs, or is it because Bob tries different recipes and takes sausage-making to a whole new level? We want to know about our retailers and what they do - we want to hear about them as three dimensional characters who are contributing to rural life. Click on the menu on the left hand side for details of 2006 and 2007 winners in each category.

Local Food Award

• Is this retailer championing ‘local food’ and supporting other local producers?
• Has the community been put on the map by the quality and diversity of local produce being sold, and breathed life into the community/ local economy?
• Is there a passionate commitment from the retailer?
• Has this retailer saved or promoted a traditional local food that may otherwise have been lost?
• Would winning this competition reward a really special enterprise and tell a positive story about rural life?

Village Shop/ Post Office Award

• Are the owners of this shop the hub of the community, playing the key role of the rural local shopkeeper?
• Do the owners of this shop go above and beyond the call of duty?
• Are the owners of this shop ambassadors for local produce, helping their community to make informed choices about where their food comes from and giving them the chance to support their local producers?
• Is the guiding motivation a sense of community?
• Do these retailers deserve this national recognition and can they be an inspiration for all village shop owners at a time when so many are closing and Post Office closures loom?

• Has the enterprise breathed life into the community/ local economy?
• Is there a passionate commitment from the owner/ retailer?
• Has the enterprise saved something that may otherwise have been lost or saved something from disappearing from the rural map?
• Would winning this competition reward a really special enterprise and tell a positive story about rural life?
• This is a new award, previously known as the diversification category. Diversifications are still welcome, but many other businesses can now be honoured. New businesses, expanded businesses, complete one-offs – we want to hear about the most enterprising outfits in the countryside. Previous awards have gone to a Yorkshire buffalo farmer and a couple in Sussex who turned an ailing village pub into a popular pub-deli-village shop, all under one roof. Lateral thinking and ingenuity welcome.
  

Daily Telegraph Best Traditional Business category

• Does this retailer play a role in preserving a rural skill or tradition?
• Does this retailer enhance his community through his business?
• Would this skill be lost without the retailer?
• Is the retailer contributing to our rural heritage?
• Would winning this competition help the retailer to highlight an important skill that is often taken for granted?

The Rural Hero Award

This is a new category that should spark your imagination because anyone who is doing something heroic for your community and rural life is eligible. Why not nominate your your local Bobby? Or a lollipop lady? A river keeper, a teacher, your game dealer, your GP, your local Hunt Master, your vet. Or indeed your butcher, your farmer, your Post Mistress or pub landlord from our other categories. A journalist on your local paper might have caught your attention for campaigning for his or her local area - if so, tell us, and tell us why they are a hero. We are expecting a diverse range of nominations in this category – it is a category where age is irrelevant and nominees don’t even need to run a business. They just need to be passionate about what they do – and go above and beyond the call of duty in doing it.

New to 2008 are political awards which aim to recognise politicians' commitment to rural life. Three awards in total, two will be open to politicians at all levels in England Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The third award is focused on Westminster as the main legislative body affecting rural communities. Politicians are free to nominate in any or all of these categories.