Mayor’s Week: 16-20 May 2018

Mayor’s Week: 16-20 May 2018

Mayor 2017-18 Cllr Steve Mackay
The New Mayor of Worcester, Councillor Steve Mackay

Firstly, I do believe that I’m in for a very busy but exciting year as Mayor of Worcester – and I thank my fellow councillors for placing me in this very privileged position. That said, both my wife Alison and I intend to do all that we can to represent and promote Worcester.

During the 43 years of our marriage, we have lived in various places in the South of England, moving to this lovely City in 2007.  Our two daughters have given us four fabulous grandchildren, who we try to spend as much time as possible with.  My background has been in the police service but now as I am about to retire, we will be able to commit completely to this new role.

I must say thank you to Cllr Paul Denham who having just completed his term as mayor, has given me some valuable advice.  I do hope to live up to his and other former mayors’ achievements.

I thought long and hard about my ‘theme’ for the year.  During my time as Deputy Mayor, I came to realise the great worth of volunteers to the City.  They truly add so much to the lives of so many and with that in mind, I determined that ‘Valuing Volunteers’ would be the best way I could look to say thank you to them.  I aim to promote the role of volunteers in Worcester, and encourage others to step forward and join them.

Working with charities is an obvious way for volunteers to assist and I have chosen three to support in my Mayoral year.  They are:

Victim Support, which for no charge provides assistance to victims of crime.  Helping those who have been targeted by criminals and being supportive at such a time is all-important.

Headway, a charity which supports those suffering from acquired brain injuries.  Staff assist those experiencing such trauma, helping to renew their old skills as well as gaining new ones.

Onside Advocacy.  This group ensure that those having either physical or mental ill-health issues will be well represented, and are not discriminated against.

I look forward to a challenging but fulfilling year as Mayor of Worcester.

Mayor’s Week: 5 – 11 May 2017

Mayor’s Week: 5 – 11 May 2017

My mayoral year ends on Tuesday 16 May, when I will hand the chain over to a new mayor at the annual City Council Meeting, so this is my last weekly diary.

I began last May by announcing my theme “No Community Left Behind”.  I have invited homeless, disabled, and other special people for tea in the Parlour, and for tours of The Guildhall.

I cancelled the traditional mayor’s inaugural banquet, which offered free slap-up meals and drinks to guests who could afford to pay.  Instead, I invited homeless and disadvantaged users of Maggs Day Centre, St Paul’s Hostel, YMCA and CCP (a charity supporting the homeless in Worcester) to a Christmas lunch with all the trimmings, in our magnificent Assembly Room in The Guildhall.

In October half-term school holiday, I arranged for the first ever Family Fun Day in The Guildhall.  Excited children brought their mums and dads and lots of free activities kept them busy for hours.

I also wanted to raise money for Midlands Air Ambulance and to send children from low-income families on adventure holidays at youth hostels. YHA Breaks for Kids and Action for Children will make this happen, using some of this money.

This has also been a year helping others to celebrate. Apprentices, scouts and guides, cadets, school students, Rotarians, Lions, college and university graduates have all celebrated their achievements.

We have experienced fantastic music, drama, dance and poetry at the Swan Theatre, Cathedral and Racecourse, and thanked hundreds of volunteers who work hard to keep many worthwhile activities alive.

Many other volunteers helped me during the year to make my events a success and raise money for my chosen charities. I want to thank them all for making this an unforgettable year for Lynn, Lucinda and me.

Our good wishes go to the incoming mayor and mayoress – we hope they have a really successful year.

 

 

 

Mayor’s Week: 28 April – 4 May 2017

Mayor’s Week: 28 April – 4 May 2017

The Worcester Operatic and Dramatic Society (WODS) performed Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore at the Swan Theatre last week. This was the first ever WODS production in 1892 so it was appropriate to celebrate their 125th anniversary by staging it again this year.

Months of hard work by the large cast and back-stage members created a superb spectacle which was very much appreciated by an enthusiastic audience. We’re looking forward to their next production in the autumn.

On Sunday, Worcester’s Community Theatre School, All Sorts Performing Arts, welcomed us to their open day at the Warndon Hub in Shap Drive. This not-for-profit organisation is led by enthusiastic young people who offer three-18-year-olds the chance to learn a variety of performing arts skills. Despite the low cost of the classes, many are run by professional teachers.

The children and young people we watched were really enjoying themselves and learning to perform is a great way to increase self-confidence. Like many local groups, All Sorts struggles to attract the funding it needs to expand its operation. There is so little money available from local councils now and it is getting harder to find charities able to offer support, despite the fantastic contribution All Sorts makes for young people in our city. I do hope they can find some benefactors to keep them going.

On Tuesday, a group of American students from our twin city of Worcester in Massachusetts arrived for a tour of The Guildhall. They had been here since March as guests of our own University and have been studying at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. I had welcomed their Principal here a few weeks ago so was delighted to welcome the students before they returned home at the end of this week.

Next week is my last as your Mayor and I will be busy right up to the end.

Mayor’s Week: 22 – 27 April 2017

Mayor’s Week: 22 – 27 April 2017

Titania Limited is an award-winning software security company located in Barbourne Road, Worcester. The company has partnered with the Heartsafe City of Coon Rapids, near Minneapolis St Paul in the USA, to help Worcester become the first Heartsafe City in the UK.

On Monday, Titania brought US police officer Bryan Platz to The Guildhall, who presented me with a framed document from the Mayor of Coon Rapids declaring his city’s desire to partner with our city in this project. Now it’s not often a fully uniformed American cop is my guest in the Parlour, so I was interested to hear what he had to say.

Bryan has attended over one hundred cardiac arrests during his 18 years as a US cop. 95% of them died, often leaving grieving loved ones behind. Some were quite young. These incidents often happened at home or work, with people around them who panicked and had no idea how to help.

In recent years, Bryan has helped train 15,000 local residents to use cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillators (AEDs), machines which shock a stopped heart back to life. Death rates have fallen as a result.

Bryan ran a number of free training sessions at Titania’s office this week for local workers, so I went along to learn more. I heard that permanent brain damage occurs just three minutes after the heart stops beating, unless CPR is started on the victim. Emergency services do not usually arrive within three minutes, but if a bystander quickly starts CPR and this is followed by AED use, the survival rate increases from 5% to 85%.

I think I could now help save a life and hope that we can encourage many more residents to do the same. We need many more easily accessible AEDs and many more locals who know how to use them. Readers can learn more by searching for “Coon Rapids Heartsafe” on the internet.