At its Annual Council meeting on Tuesday 23 May, Waverley Borough Council elected Cllr Penny Rivers, who was previously the Deputy Mayor, as the new Mayor of Waverley. Councillor John Ward was appointed Deputy Mayor.
Cllr Rivers, who represents the Godalming Farncombe & Catteshall ward, will hold the post for one year, attending a wide variety of engagements, acting as an ambassador for the council, chairing council meetings as well as raising funds for her nominated charities.
The Mayor said: "It is an honour to represent Waverley as Mayor and I hope that I can rise to the challenge. I look forward to sharing community celebrations and also to supporting volunteers and organisations who care for others.
“The two charities that I will champion this year are The Meath – who care for and support those who live with complex epilepsy and Skillway - which teaches and trains young people in crafts and life-skills.”
Penny, who was born in Kingston, Jamaica and came to live in England in 1974, has lived in Farncombe since 2002, after previously residing in Godalming. She was elected to Godalming Town Council in 1995 and served on five administrations by 2023, four times as Town Mayor. She was elected to Waverley Borough Council in 2019 and will serve as Waverley Mayor for 2023-4.
Penny is also currently the Surrey County Councillor for Godalming North.
Councillor John Ward was Mayor from May 2022 and supported the Jigsaw Trust and Creative Response. He successfully raised just over £2180 for the charities during his time as Mayor.
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Keep up to date with this year's Mayor by following her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MayorWaverley