Vote now: we need your help to identify the Coast’s 100 most influential people

WITH a population the size of Canberra and cranes finally dominating the Gosford skyline, the Central Coast is on the cusp of an unprecedented period of prosperity — and we want you to tell us who is going to help shape that future.

The search is on for the Coast's 100 most influential people.

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THE Central Coast has grown from a sleepy holiday area into one of the hottest growth spots in the country.

With a population the size of Canberra and cranes dominating the skyline, the region is on the cusp of an unprecedented period of prosperity.

But who has brought us here — and who do we trust to take us forward?

For the first time, the Express Advocate is asking you to tell us, as we embark on a project to identify the most influential people in our region.

Our selection criteria is twofold:

IMPACT

The top 100 you nominate have to have had either a significant impact in the past 12 months or are likely to do so in the 2018-19 financial year.

We know no list of this kind can ever truly be definitive or achieve an absolute consensus.

That’s OK. Ultimately we want this list to be the starting point for a conversation about the kind of people who do, and can play a major role in shaping the Central Coast’s future.

The Express Advocate is searching for the top 100 most influential Coasties.

INFLUENCE

Influence is widely defined as having the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something.

It is not a popularity contest.

In this area we want to know who really wields influence on the Coast — people who have done something specific to influence our community beyond just holding a powerful job.

From music, sport and the arts, through to education, health, law and order, politics and business, we want to know who commands influence beyond simply their job title.

Will the new chief executive officer of Central Coast Council Gary Murphy make the top 100?

Perhaps it’s a preschool director who has influenced the lives of thousands of Coasties in their most formative years over the past four decades.

Perhaps it’s a kingmaker in a local branches of a political parties, someone who grooms candidates and decides preselections.

Whoever they are, we need your help to identify them — and in just a few words to tell us why, in your opinion, they deserve to be considered among our most influential people.

THE NOMINATION AND VOTING PERIOD HAS FINISHED — STAY TUNED FOR THE RESULTS