Mayoral Viewpoint: Cllr Mike Booth, February 2025
Whilst this last month has been all hands on deck organising the Mayor of Hyndburn’s Red Charity Ball for this weekend, I have managed to squeeze in a few Mayoral engagements in between. I was delighted to be invited to support PROSPECTS Foundation twice in the last few weeks, initially at an environmental workshop and then just last weekend as I dug out my gardening tools and took part in the TREE Action community tree planting session, funded by Hyndburn Borough Council. 325 trees were planted on Saturday alone.
It was great to see local families getting involved in this initiative, which has led to 5000 new trees planted last year. I also attended fundraisers for the Mayor of Burnley’s chosen charities and the Mayor of Rossendale’s, the NSPCC. It was good to listen to the Houghton Weavers once again and the Rossendale 2nd Scouts group and band are great entertainment with a few surprise treats in their performances. This was all around hosting my own Afternoon Tea Fundraiser at Accrington’s wonderful 2 Sisters Bistro & Café, who were gracious hosts of this event.
Perhaps the biggest lesson in life is that no one gets anywhere all by themselves. If there’s another lesson I’ve also learnt in this life it is the importance of recognising and appreciating the abilities in others. Over the years I’ve observed the Mayoress, Christine organise many large functions with her strong leadership. I’ve also observed Christine and her younger sister Maureen raise large sums of money for various charities. All good things depend on family and friends.
Christine is also one of the founding members of the organisation called ‘Building Bridges in Burnley’ set up after the Burnley riots to promote community cohesion. Towards the end of January, a dedicated group of volunteers based in Burnley were awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service for 2024, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK, equivalent to an MBE. With a break in our Mayoral duties Christine should have been amongst them but she was helping me with the organisation of the Hyndburn Mayor’s Red Charity Ball to be held at the 1968 Hospitality lounge on Saturday 15th February 2025 at Accrington Stanley.
Christine, a councillor on loan from Burnley, is the dedicated organiser par excellence who has brought together a team of contributors to create what I believe will be a great evening for the good people of East Lancashire who dedicate their time and energy so freely to help in so many lives. I cannot thank the Mayoress enough for the support she has provided throughout my Mayoral year and in particular the long hours she has put it organising this event.
With the ball just around the corner now, we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has bought tickets and confirmed that they will be attending the Mayor’s Red Charity Ball this year. The Mayoress and I have been working hard behind the scenes to pull together what we are confident will be a wonderful evening full of food and entertainment.
We are proud to have the chance to play hosts on this special evening and raise funds for some truly worthy local causes. For our year in office, we chose the following charities to support: the East Lancashire Hospice, Carer’s Link, Macmillan Nurses, Accrington Stanley Women FC, and the ACT Street Angels. These charities are close to our hearts, and I am proud that we can join together as a community to support them and raise much-needed funds for their worthy causes.”
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have sponsored or donated towards the Mayor’s Ball.