Vote of Thanks
To pass a vote of thanks to The Mayor in the following terms:
a) The Members of Council tender their grateful thanks to The Worshipful, The Mayor, Councillor Humayun Kabir, for the courteous and efficient manner in which he presided over the Council’s deliberations during the past year;
b) The Members of Council record their sincere appreciation of the dignified manner in which Councillor Humayun Kabir has carried out the traditional duties of the office of Mayor, of the support and encouragement which he and his Consort, Mrs Rahena Chowdhury Kabir, have given to local organisations and of the prominent part they have taken in the social life of the Borough during the Mayor’s period of office; and
c) That this resolution be sealed and presented to the Mayor at the Annual Council Meeting in a suitable form.
Minutes:
The Mayor passed the Chair to the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Henson, who presided over the vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor of Croydon.
The Deputy Mayor invited the Mayor to give his farewell address.
The Mayor commenced his address by expressing his personal condolences to those families who had lost loved ones during the pandemic and spoke of his solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Additionally, the Mayor congratulated Councillor Creatura on the birth of his twins.
It was detailed how 544 formal engagements had been held during the Mayoralty year, of which the Mayor had personally attended 433. It was noted that many of those had promoted education to residents of all ages and had brought together many different communities and faiths from across the Borough.
Particular successes were noted; the hosting of a Borough-wide Domestic Violence Awareness seminar and others on Knife Crime Reduction and Mental Health Awareness. Those involved in delivering these were personally thanked including Freedom Together CIC, the Metropolitan Police, Councillor Hamida Ali, Foundation 47, the Croydon Neighbourhood Association, Croydon Mind and Yemi Hughes, who was working hard to prevent more deaths after tragically losing her son to knife crime.
The Mayor expressed his pleasure in having welcomed to the Town Hall investors from 22 different countries to talk about why Croydon was a fantastic place to live, work and invest. Abdul Basit Syed and Councillor Toni Letts, the Council’s Business Champion, were specifically thanked for their support.
The trip to Arnhem for the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Arnhem Bridge was recalled including speaking to his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, who was informed how much Croydon had changed since the 2011 riots. Arnhem’s Burgomaster, Mayor Ahmed Marcouch, had been invited to Croydon during the opening of Fairfield Halls to jointly unveil the Arnhem Gallery plaque.
The impact of Covid-19 on the Mayoral year was acknowledged; it was explained how fundraising events had moved online.
Particular thanks were given to a number of individuals who had supported the Mayor including Penny Smith-Orr and her daughter Caroline, Anthony King, Anusha Subramaniam, Graeme Smith, Shalina Alabaksh, Deva Ponnoosami, Chandra Babu, Surinder Sahota, Lorraine, Drolet and her son Zack, Giash Uddin, Eawor Ali, Dilly Surelia, Jubayer Kabir, Amanat Hussain, Seleman Rez, Neil Athorn, Patrick Unsby, MFA Zaman, Susan Crosswaite, Sebrina Spencer, Elam Tanveer, Mohammed Islam, Christina Bades and Anna Virabyan, Aska Miah. Four Croydon restaurants were also thanked for their support of the Mayor’s fundraising efforts. These were Chat House, Bagatti, Zafran and Urban Guj.
In his closing remarks, the Mayor paid personal thanks to the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Henson, the members of his staff including Stephanie Cope, Hema Vasanthakumar, Nick Evans and Luca Bercelli as well as the Leader, Councillor Tony Newman, the Group Whips and Democratic Services. His biggest thanks were reserved for his wife, Mrs Rahena Chowdhury, for her support ... view the full minutes text for item 96
Vote of Thanks
To pass a vote of thanks to The Mayor in the following terms:
a) The Members of Council tender their grateful thanks to The Worshipful, The Mayor, Councillor Bernadette Khan JP, for the courteous and efficient manner in which she presided over the Council’s deliberations during the past year;
b) The Members of Council record their sincere appreciation of the dignified manner in which Councillor Bernadette Khan JP has carried out the traditional duties of the office of Mayor, of the support and encouragement which she and her Consort, Mr Qaiyum Khan, have given to local organisations and of the prominent part they have taken in the social life of the Borough during the Mayor’s period of office; and
c) That this resolution be sealed and presented to the Mayor at the Annual Council Meeting in a suitable form.
Minutes:
Madame Mayor, Councillor Bernadette Khan, passed the Chair to the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Humayun Kabir, who presided over the vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor of Croydon.
The Deputy Mayor invited Madame Mayor to give her farewell address. Madame Mayor opened her address by describing how Croydon was a loving and giving place to be and that during her Mayoral year she had undertaken numerous attendances, meetings and visits during which she had focused on the inclusivity of the young and wider communities. Madame Mayor noted how during her term she had visited all the departments of the Council and had been overwhelmed by their achievements specifically highlighting the new Youth Zone and refurbished Fairfield Halls as jewels in Croydon’s crown. It was described how Croydon’s emergency services, officers and young people had been hosted at Mayoral events during the year and how a visit to China had been undertaken. In working with Croydon’s young people, Madame Mayor had experienced their desire for a greater involvement in shaping their futures and the economic development of their town. Madame Mayor expressed her desire to continue to campaign on the opening of schools after hours and the issue of exclusions. Thanks were expressed to all those who had been involved in supporting the Mayoral Year. Madame Mayor concluded her address by wishing the new Mayor, his consort and the new Deputy Mayor the very best wishes for their year in office.
The motion for the vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor was moved by the Leader, Councillor Newman. In moving the motion, the Leader took the opportunity to express his own thanks to the outgoing Mayor. He noted that Madame Mayor had gone ahead with the role at a time of great personal loss but that this had been the right decision with Madame Mayor having done so much to honour the memory of her late son. The Leader highlighted how Madame Mayor had done much through her work to bring together Croydon’s diverse communities. Madame Mayor’s fundraising success and support for services was stressed as well as her viral impact through her YouTube fame. The Leader particularly stressed Madame Mayor’s success in engaging and empowering Croydon’s young people.
The motion for the vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor was seconded by the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Tim Pollard. In seconding the motion, Councillor Pollard also took the opportunity to express his thanks. Councillor Pollard noted how Madame Mayor’s passion for young people was well known and that it had been good to see her bring this to her role over the past year. He expressed thanks on behalf of the Opposition Group and the people of Croydon to Madame Mayor for how she had conducted her role.
The Deputy Mayor put the motion to the vote which was unanimously passed.