Covid Mayor back in post

THE new Mayor of Henley has pledged to work hard and do her “utmost” for the town.

Sarah Miller, who last held the role in 2021/22 when the country was recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, was formally elected by the town council on Monday.

She succeeds Michelle Thomas, who handed over the chain of office in front of about 200 people at the mayor-making ceremony in the town hall. Her wife, Carolyn Ahara, will be her escort.

Kellie Hinton, also a former mayor, was elected Deputy Mayor.

Councillor Miller is a member of the ruling Henley Residents Group, who was first elected to the town council in 2015.

She welcomed her 15 fellow councillors, including five new ones, and council staff and said she looked forward to working with them.

She announced that the charities she will support during her year in office will be the Henley Community Hub and the Henley branch of Parkinson’s UK.

Thank you, Henley

Cllr Miller said: “I am hugely honoured to be elected mayor for a second time.

“Henley is the town I grew up in, the town I love, the town I plan to spend the rest of my life in, along with my family, and Henley is and always will be in my heart. Being elected Mayor means so much to me.

“You may recall that when I was last elected back in 2021, government restrictions due to covid meant not all my family and friends could attend but I am delighted to see a fuller hall today so thank you all for coming.

“All mayors rely on many people for support — officers, fellow councillors and family — and I’m very much looking forward to working with you all.”

She thanked Ken Arlett and Lorraine Hillier, two former mayors, both of whom stepped down as councillors at the local elections two weeks ago. Mr Arlett had been mayor twice for the two years before her.

She also thanked Cllr Thomas for her “incredible” year as mayor, saying that as well as juggling her work and family commitments with being first citizen, it was a busy time for the UK with the Ukraine crisis, the death of the Queen and the coronation of King Charles III.

“All dealt with in her trademark calm and down-to-earth manner,” said Cllr Miller. “I speak for many when I say what respect we have for the way she dealt with an extraordinary year. Thank you, Cllr Thomas, for all you have done.”

Born in Henley, Cllr Miller attended Gillotts School before working in business and music events internationally. She has organised many town events, including launching the Henley Design Day, and in 2017 brought the annual May Fayre back into the town centre.

She said: “I was very lucky to have been brought up in Henley and although I spent time working away, I always came back.

“Nothing compares with that feeling of home when driving over Henley Bridge, the River Thames and Royal Mansions, where I lived for more than 20 years and my parents lived before me.

“This was when Hobbs was just a little boatyard and we had Hammants and Woolworths in Bell Street and we had more than 35 pubs — good times.

“As someone who is not politically motivated, I joined Henley Residents Group eight years ago as I wanted to give something back to the town and I grew into my role as a councillor.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have had good role models and mentors to steer me and I’ve enjoyed every second. Well, nearly every second.

“It has been a fabulous journey with such a varied and diverse yet truly dedicated group of local people who I can proudly call not just colleagues but friends.

“And none of us councillors could do what we do without the incredibly dedicated, hardworking town council staff, who go above and beyond to ensure the council runs smoothly. Thank you for all your dedication, hard work and commitment.

“We have more than 200 local charities and with great difficulty I have chosen two — the Henley Community Hub, which is a not-for-profit organisation which will see the total renovation of Trinity Hall in Harpsden Road, currently an underused crumbling building built in 1908 for use by the community.

“It will be transformed into a fully accessible and sustainable venue, once again acting as a community hub providing services with a specialist team and paediatric counselling, while also becoming a permanent home for Henley Music School.

“And the Henley branch of Parkinson’s UK. During my last term as mayor, I was invited to two of their events at the Christ Church Centre.

“The branch does so much and offers information and support to local people with Parkinson’s, their families and carers. They organise events, social activities, exercise classes, coffee mornings and boat trips. I know friends who have this condition and if I can play a very small part in helping, I will do so.

“I couldn’t do any of this without the love and support of my partner Carolyn and my two darling children, Vivien and Ruby, who are hopefully at school now, who have stood by me through the good times and the bad.

“They know Mama gets very stressed — she finds public speaking a nerve-wracking prospect and sometimes she won’t be around to say goodnight but they continue to support me and I couldn’t ask for more.

“And not forgetting my mother, who was horrified when I announced I had been nominated as mayor for the second time as she hadn’t had enough time to buy a new dress or have her hair permed.

“My brother Jolyon, who has been toasting my nomination with many a glass of red since I told him last week. I’m very glad he made it here today. My sister Kate, who lives in France, and my nephew Max, I love you all; you constantly support me.”

A grand ceremony

People had gathered in the town hall to witness the ceremony, including family and friends of the councillors, charity representatives and former mayors.

The ceremony began with a procession led by the town sergeant, James Churchill-Coleman, followed by Cllr Thomas, deputy town clerk Cath Adams and Rev Jeremy Tayler, the rector of Henley, while the audience stood.

Cllr Thomas proposed that Cllr Miller be mayor and was seconded by Cllr Hinton, who in turn was proposed for deputy mayor by Councillor Glen Lambert, seconded by Councillor Ian Reissmann.

The council voted unanimously to elect both women. Cllr Miller made a declaration of acceptance before the group left the room. They returned six minutes later with the new Mayor in full red, fur-trimmed robe and ruffle as she took her seat at the top of the table.

Cllr Thomas put the chain over her neck and they gave one another a hug and kiss on the cheek.

Cllr Thomas said: “When Cllr Miller served her last term of office as mayor, the country was still very much experiencing the pandemic, so I look forward to seeing you having a normal and fulfilling year as mayor.

“Sarah is such a joy to have around. She puts everyone she meets at instant ease and I think that’s a very important quality to have as mayor.

“You have a wonderful, supportive family. You work so hard as a councillor and your personal strengths in events help you to bring celebration to the town, such as the May Fayre, which you successfully brought back to Market Place.

“You also stretch possibilities for the town, with initiatives such as International Women’s Day, which I thoroughly enjoyed attending as mayor. I am proud to have known you since 2015. I look forward to working with you. I really have just been keeping your seat warm for the last year.”

Cllr Hinton said: “I’ve been fortunate enough to be Sarah’s colleague for the past eight years. I really do see how hard she works.

“When she takes something on, she takes it on by full force, which is why it’s such a shame that she wasn’t fully able to take her previous time as mayor on with the full force because of the times we had.

“I’m really appreciative that she gets to have another year and we get to see her shine in all the things she will do for Henley.

“And she won’t do this alone — as ever, she will have the wonderful and hilarious Carolyn by her side to shine there with her.

“I’m really excited about many things this year — I particularly hope that they give her a good deputy because that’s what she deserves!”

Praise for outgoing Mayor

Cllr Reissmann proposed a vote of thanks for the retiring mayor.

He said: “I first met Michelle when she was leading the Keep Henley Active campaign to save the former LA Fitness site. I was immediately impressed by the serious way she approached the campaign.

“She stood and was elected to the council in 2017, using her skills and experience from that campaign, and worked to establish herself as a highly enabled and effective chair of the planning committee.

“Immediately on election, Michelle pursued an interest in education and started a campaign to restore government spending, which had been severely cut since 2010. Michelle organised a march through the town to protest and, once again, she made sure the argument was right.

“Michelle was elected Mayor in 2022 and her skills, passion and organisation have been obvious in the way she has performed her role as mayor and throughout the year she has acted with dignity, firmness and clarity.

“At the start of the year, Michelle was rightly daunted by what was ahead but it has been great to see her grow with assurance and confidence as mayor. She has chaired council meetings superbly, being fair and firm at all times. Meetings have never run so smoothly or as quickly.”

Cllr Lambert said: “I met Michelle first on the campaign trail and my first impression of her was that she does absolutely nothing by halves and that is something she has carried through her time as mayor.

“I learnt how very difficult it is to juggle a family, job and being mayor but Michelle just made it look easy.”

Cllr Thomas said: “Many people over the last few weeks have asked me how I found being mayor and how I feel about stepping down and what were the best bits.

“My answer every time is just what an extraordinary year it has been — the first mayor to serve under two monarchs in 70 years, war closer than ever to our shores since the Second World War with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the worst and most persistent inflation in 40 years. All of this while still recovering from the worst pandemic in our country since the First World War and a council-declared climate emergency.

“At this point, I think anyone probably wished they had never asked.

“I have seen this town from the inside out and I stand by my statement that we constantly aim high. We are an ambitious town and we are hugely self-sufficient.

“I put much of this success down to the outstanding contribution to our town of volunteers. I am delighted to have been able to start the Henley Volunteer Network with the help of Glen and Anna Lambert. I was supposed to launch the network in September but very suddenly was caught up in Operation London Bridge when, sadly, Queen Elizabeth II died.

“The network was finally launched in February and has already had some success stories, so I look forward to concentrating on it over the next few years. Remember, I will be in Market Place on June 2 for National Volunteering Week.

“Still my greatest privilege of all has been working with children and young people. As far as I was concerned, being invited to all the schools for the Queen’s platinum jubilee was the hottest ticket in town.

“As I was there so early on in my mayoral year, I have spent the whole year being recognised by the children in the town. They still say ‘hello’ to me, they wave and they nudge their friends and parents. It has been absolutely priceless.”

She thanked other councillors, in particular Cllr Reissmann, and council staff, especially Lena Wisely, the mayor’s assistant, joking: “How you manage dealing with a different personality every year I will never know, but you do it with such ease.” She also thanked her husband Dave and children Tom and Eleanor.

Mayoral charity amounts revealed

Cllr Thomas revealed that she had raised a total of £8,133 for her nominated charities, Greener Henley and the state schools covid catch-up fund, and presented cheques to Catherine Notaras, of Greener Henley, and Tim Hoskins, headteacher of Badgemore Primary School.

Deputy Mayor elected

Proposing Cllr Hinton as deputy mayor, Cllr Lambert reflected on their first Facebook messages to one another in 2015. He said: “‘Hello Kellie, I live in Henley and have often wondered about getting involved in local politics. How did you get involved and become a councillor? Are there many opportunities for new people to get involved?’

“Probably still Kellie’s fastest ever response to an email: ‘Hello Glen, you have emailed at the perfect time as candidates for the election are now being selected. We have a meeting on Monday. If you are available, it would be great if you could attend.’

“Three days later, I did attend that meeting and by the end of it was somewhat surprised to find myself standing for election. That seems so long ago now and since then, I’ve achieved a great deal and made many friends but I’ve never forgotten my first contact with Kellie.

“In 2017 I was delighted to be part of the council that selected Kellie for mayor and what a terrific mayor she was. I knew she’d be a very tough act to follow, long before I had any inkling that that task would be mine.

“It was quite a surprise learning that I was to be mayor-elect. I recall returning home to break the news to my somewhat reclusive wife that we’d soon be mayor and mayoress of Henley. Having always cherished her privacy and anonymity, she was mortified. But deep down she knew, just as well as I knew, that this was all Kellie Hinton’s fault!

“Like me, Kellie found herself as mayor somewhat unexpectedly, without ever having had the opportunity to serve as deputy mayor. I’d like to put that right today by proposing her for the role.

“Kellie has always poured her heart and soul into Henley and I know she will be a pillar of support, just as she always has been, with buckets of enthusiasm and a vast knowledge of our town and community. Any mayor would be lucky to have her by their side.”

Cllr Hinton said: “It gives me great honour to be Deputy Mayor of Henley and to support Sarah, my dear friend, as she takes the year on with full force. My main interests will continue to be all things green, with a particular interest in our parks and outside spaces.”

She thanked her partner Ben, who will be her consort, and her daughters Hallie and Eden.

Among the guests were Oxfordshire Deputy Lieutenant Lynda Atkins, former mayors Julian Brookes, Lorraine Hillier, Liz Hodgkin and Jeni Wood, Henley town medal recipients John Green and Mike Willoughby, former town clerk Janet Wheeler, River & Rowing Museum chairman David Worthington and headteachers Tim Hoskins, Tim Coulson and Nick Armitage.