Category winners for Johnnie Walker Sunday Times Greatest Awards

Winners

• Nation's Greatest Professional or Entrepreneur, Mike Blythe who is renowned in the local and international aviation industries as a world-class pilot, having won numerous international competitions and prestigious awards, as well as being the founder and part-owner of The Airplane Factory.

• Nation's Greatest Inventor, Sir Stuart Ntlathi: At the age of 25 years old, Stuart is an inventor (15-in-1 microwave oven, an electronic Vuvuzela and an auto shoe polisher), innovator and the founder of the Stuart Ntlathi Science, Engineering & Technology Institute, which he founded when he was 13 years old.

• Nation's Greatest Community Leader, James Louw: From humble beginnings, he reached out to his sprawling township of 1.5 million people in about 40 suburbs and with little resources trained thousands in the field of sewing training, computer training and youth development.

• Nation's Greatest Mentor, Mmipe Mokgehle who has made it possible for 49 schools in the Mankweng Cluster of Capricorn District in Limpopo Province to receive 21 computers plus a printer, each through his own initiative. He made it possible that 490 of the teachers at these schools are trained in computer literacy to impart the knowledge to the learners.

• Nation's Greatest Challenger, Lesley Rochat, founder and executive director of AfriOceans, a non-profit organisation, which is leading marine and shark conservation and environmental education in South Africa. She's a powerhouse in the industry and celebrated locally and internationally.

• Nation's Greatest Hero, Sibongile Shabalala who started a school for the mentally challenged children and young adults in 2007 in Ladysmith with just two learners and one teacher. Today, her school has grown to 70 learners and 4 teachers.

• Nation's Greatest Individual, Dr Andrew Ross: during his work as a medical superintendent, he faced a continual shortage of qualified healthcare staff just like in any rural hospital. He realised that the best way to address healthcare staff shortages in rural areas is to invest in local youth, which motivated him to start his organisation called Umthombo Youth Development Foundation. The organisation has produced 135 health care professional across 16 different health-science disciplines and concurrently supports 192 rural students across all South African universities.

Keep inspiring

The Nation's Greatest campaign, which formed part of a global Johnnie Walker Keep Walking vision, aims to inspire personal progression by acknowledging great South African's whose achievements and contributions keep walking towards making our nation great, whether it is through a single selfless act or a daily commitment to a chosen career or field.

"Our history as a country contains so many great moments and achievements that often go unnoticed or forgotten. The purpose of this campaign was to not only remind people of what we have achieved but to also get people to realise how much potential we have as a country," says Melanie Campbell, Johnnie Walker marketing manager.

"These winners' names, along with our finalists and all who entered will be assembled later on this year to create the greatest collection of South African achievements in history.

The campaign looked at how the power of our individual potential lies within embracing our differences to fuel progress, inspire ideas, creativity and solutions. We hope that through this campaign, we have inspired South Africans to be reminded of their greatness and to look ahead towards a positive future," concludes Campbell.