John Hanrahan, Norma Sarafin Penny and Peter Smith-Nicholls are the three nominees who’ve made it through to the next round of the Cruise the Coast competition.

The panel of judges whittled down your nominations to the three they thought were most deserving of the fantastic prize – and now it’s down to you to choose the finalists.

Two will go through to the grand final – and then one will be whisked away to spend the week on luxury yacht Salu. They’ll live the millionaire lifestyle, from fine dining to shopping in St Tropez.

All the nominees were amazing examples of community spirit, nominated for their tireless and selfless work – but only three could go through to the voting round.

‘Community hero’ John Hanrahan was nominated by not one but four different people for his work in Ferndown.

John, is the driving force behind the Ferndown Jujitsi Club, which local PC Gary Elson says is a key part of the town’s community spirit.

His wife Christine, who nominated him, said: “John has been a fantastic mentor for many children young people and many families in the Heatherlands estate.

“He is manager of the jujitsu club, co-ordinator for Neighbourhood Watch, Ferndown Carnival Committee member and helper with the PTA.

“All of this has been done in his own time – and unknown to many, he has undergone eight heart operations over the last five years as well as many other procedures and all without complaint.”

He’s run community open days, countless fundraising events, and activity weekends, visits schools to talk to children about the dangers and consequences of heathland fires and organises competitions and talent shows.

PC Elson, who also nominated John, said: “I nominated John because of his tireless work with the jujitsu club and the fundraising he does. He never stops working to raise money so the kids can go away to events or go abroad to meet other clubs.

“The club is very important to Ferndown – it’s not just the time on the mat but all the other things they do together, including the parents and families.”

Norma Penny was nominated by her daughter Claire Davidson for two decades of fostering work and her work in adult education. Mrs Penny, from Boscombe, has provided homes for the homeless and dozens of troubled teenagers. She taught drama to students with learning difficulties, writing plays to help build their self confidence.

Claire said: “She’s been fostering with my dad for nearly twenty years, often taking in two or three teenagers at a time, ones who were in the most rebellious stages of their lives.

“Some people would have considered it too much to take on, but she did, even though it wasn’t always easy. She spent lots of time assessing the young people and she was really good at it.

“She’s helped so many people, she’s done so much for the community, and she’s never looked for recognition.

Mrs Penny said: “It was an absolute shock when Claire said she’d nominated me. I wasn’t going to let her to start with but then my other daughter told me she was going to nominate me too. They said just do it and don’t think about so that’s what I did.

“I didn’t expect to get to the final 12, I feel a bit embarrassed, like I’m saying ‘look how brilliant I am.’ But the prize sounds very exciting. We went to Cornwall last year but I’ve never been on a holiday like this one.”

Peter Smith-Nicholls, from Poole, started the Dorset Bike Ride in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support 21 years ago after his father died of cancer.

To date the event, which Peter single-handedly organises despite having a full-time job at Poole Hospital, has raised £650,000 for the charity.

Chrissie Wathen-Smith, from Macmillan, nominated him. She said: “He’s a very quiet, very shy, man, but I hope he’ll be pleased to be nominated.

“He does everything for the bike ride himself – we offer him support from our offices but he does everything, from organising the marshals and the policing to finding a company to sponsor the bananas the marshals give out to the cyclists.

“Last year’s ride had 800 cyclists and we think this year’s event will raise £100,000 on the day. He’s already raised £650,000 and has just won Macmillan’s top volunteer award for all the work he’s done – every day, despite his job, he’s working on the bike ride. He’s always doing it.”

Peter said: “It was quite a surprise when I found out I’d been nominated. When we started the bike ride I never imagined it would be such a success.”

Now we have our three selected nominees, we are looking for your help to choose the finalists – so please cast your vote on who you want to experience the millionaire lifestyle.

Voting is open now and will close at 4pm on Thursday. Call 08456 539 106 (calls will cost BT local rate from BT landlines), vote online at www.thecoast106.com or write the name of your favourite on a postcard and send it to FREEPOST, THE COAST before 4pm on 23rd April.

Our two Daily Echo finalists will be announced online at bournemouthecho.co.uk at 6pm on Thursday.