A new mayor has been appointed to serve St Albans district for the next year.
St Albans district councillor Mohammad Iqbal Zia was replaced by Cllr Rosemary Farmer at a council meeting this week.
Cllr Brian Gibbard was appointed the new deputy mayor at the same time.
Cllr Farmer said it is a huge honour to be the 475th mayor of St Albans: “I am looking forward to serving the community and representing the council at local and civic events throughout the year.
“My theme for the year is ‘serving and caring for all in our community’. There are people in our society who are often overlooked, such as those suffering from mental health issues or who are older people living alone.
“They are all part of our community and we need to help them feel included and supported.”
She has picked mental health charity Mind in Mid Herts to support throughout the coming year: “As Mayor, I will be encouraging people to reach out to anyone who appears to be isolated and help ensure that they get any care and support they need.”
Chief executive officer for Mind in Mid Herts, Sharn Tomlinson, said: “We are delighted that the mayor has chosen to support Mind in Mid Herts during her year in office.
“We are a small charity offering people access to a range of mental health services focused around prevention, recovery and social support.”
Cllr Farmer is a former banker - one of the first ever woman bank executives in The City of London - who was born in the Chilterns.
The English language and literature graduate has lived in Harpenden since 1999, served on the district council since 2012, and has been an active member of the community in that time.
For example, she is a trustee of Druglink, a member of The Harpenden Trust Care Fund Committee and a trustee of Harpenden Connect, otherwise known as the Harpenden Hopper.
She is also a governor of the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. The mayor’s consort for the year will be Cllr Farmer’s sister, Susan Farmer.
Former engineer Cllr Gibbard was born at St Albans City Hospital and has raised a family in the area.
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