The red carpet has been rolled out for five community heroes, as years of sacrifice by ?ordinary people doing extraordinary things? was recognised at a special awards ceremony.

Dignitaries came out in force as winners of last year?s CableVision Community Service Awards were honoured ? and road safety campaigner Dr. Joseph Froncioni was named as the first champion of 2006.

Politicians and civic leaders flocked to the Fairmont Southampton on Saturday night to salute the unstinting service of stalwarts whose work rarely hits the headlines.

Among those honoured were the four quarterly winners since the awards launched in December 2004: Agatha Lambert, for keeping her neighbourhood tidy; Jermaine Richardson, for work as an educational coordinator; Miguel Mejias, for more than 500 hours? voluntary service and Fern Wade, for delivering food and clothing to needy residents.

The first recipient of 2006, Dr. Froncioni, was also hailed for his accident prevention work during his five years as chairman of the Road Safety Council.

The cable company donated $1,000 to help Dr. Froncioni?s Bermuda Smartrisk charity compile and analyse traffic accident information. The next CableVision community service award will be presented in April.