NEW Mayor Karen King has promised to concentrate on supporting her two chosen charities during her year in the role.
Councillor King has been elected as Mayor of Redcar and Cleveland and was invested in the role at a special ceremony at Bellamy Pavilion, Kirkleatham Museum on Friday. She said she was “humbled and proud” to be chosen but was “excited” for the chance to promote the borough and celebrate its people.
She explained that she has chosen Teesside Sands, which supports parents and families dealing with the tragedy of stillbirth and The Junction in Redcar, which works with some of the borough’s most vulnerable young people, as the Mayoral charities.
She said: “I am a celebrant, so I conduct weddings, funerals and naming ceremonies and one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in that role was help parents in that position. It is heartbreaking and it’s how I got to know Teesside Sands, a really superb organisation I’m proud to support.”
The work done at The Junction for our young people is another cause close to Saltburn-born Cllr King’s heart, as she has fostered 22 children in the last 12 years. Now she provides a loving home to a young person as part of the ‘Staying Put’ scheme for young people who are past fostering age.
Cllr King, who was brought up in New Marske and has served two years as a borough councillor, worked at Philips Petroleum for 20 years before becoming a full time foster carer and a celebrant. She is also a governor at Outwood Academy Bydales in Marske and runs Revitalize Redcar and Cleveland, a monthly networking event for businesses and community groups.
Her deputy is Councillor Malcolm Griffiths. Cllr Griffiths, a father-of-two and a grandfather, was born on Teesside but moved away before returning in the mid-1970s. Now a successful businessman, he worked at Cleveland Bridge before going self-employed 30 years ago.
He said he would concentrate on promoting the borough to as many people and businesses as possible. “I am going to spread the word about the wonderful place where we live,” he said.