IPSWICH: Today is one of the most significant in the history of this newspaper as The Star hosted a major conference aimed at driving forward the future of the town.

And our contribution to the life of Ipswich was underlined yesterday as The Star was named Newspaper of the Year at the prestigious EDF awards ceremony.

The Beacon Ipswich conference at UCS brought together business leaders, community leaders, politicians, and top public officials to develop strategies to see the town grow its way out of the recession that has gripped the country.

It highlighted how Ipswich can seize the opportunities it has to emerge stronger from the wretched five years of recession that the country has so far endured.

And it did not shy away from the difficult issues that are facing the town – the difficulties surrounding the development of the Waterfront, the perception that it is not as strong a shopping centre as neighbouring towns and cities.

But the conference was not negative – there is nothing to be negative about in Ipswich. There is much to be optimistic about.

There are huge success stories in the town. The conference is taking place at UCS, one of the town’s most important developments of the last decade.

And the town’s university is preparing to make another major announcement which will once again show how important it is for the future development of the town.

There is hope for the future of the town – but the prize will not be acheived unless the town comes together to work for it.

And it will require a substantial effort, both from Ipswich and the wider Suffolk community, to turn our town into what it should become – the thriving heart of a bustling county.

As the participants gathered for today’s conference, The Star received major recognition for its role in the community.

We were named Newspaper of the Year in the EDF Regional Press Awards which were presented yesterday.

Judges praised The Star’s power-packed package from front to back, constantly fighting and winning for its readers. Save Our Fire Crews campaign was also highly commended in the Community Campaign of the Year category.

It was a day of triumph for four other key members of the team.

Le-Anne Reeves, who works for both the EADT and the Star as Page Design Manager, won Designer of the Year for the exquisitely designed pages she produces.

Jonathan Elsey, Design Editor, secured the award for Front Page of the Year – from one of his TWO shortlisted submissions. Judges were wowed by his Ipswich Town/Michael Chopra front page exclusive late last year

Sarah Lucy Brown, an Ipswich Star and EADT photographer, was Highly Commended in the category of News Photographer of the Year after producing a wide range of skilled pictures.

Meanwhile Star and EADT columnist Lynne Mortimer was shortlisted for Columnist of the Year for her witty writing style.