The Mayor invited former Councillor Krystal Miller to the dais to receive the Council’s vote of thanks.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Alambritis, moved and the Leader of the Conservative Group, Councillor Oonagh Moulton, seconded the vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor. 

In doing so both Group Leaders and the Leader of the Merton Park Ward Independent Residents Group, Councillor Peter Southgate spoke in praise of Krystal Miller’s year in office. A copy of all their speeches is attached as appendix A to their minutes. Councillor

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

That the Council places on record its sincere thanks and appreciation to Councillor Krystal Miller, for the dedicated manner in which she has served as Mayor of the London Borough of Merton for the year 2013-2014.

Mayoral Citation:

Councillor Krystal Miller Mayor of Merton 2013-2014

At the time of her election as Mayor in May 2013, Councillor Miller had completed seven years as a councillor for Trinity Ward in Wimbledon. She has been a hands-on, community-focused and energetic mayor, undertaking many charity fundraising events and numerous civic engagements.

The Mayor’s main charities for 2013-2014 were ‘Home Start Merton’ and the Polka Theatre. With both charities working to help children in Merton, the Mayor has been very focused on the development of the borough’s young people. Councillor Miller supported several school and youth theatre events during her mayoral year as well as meeting with many Merton parents through her charities.

As a youthful and innovative Mayor, Councillor Miller challenged mayoral traditions by volunteering in manual work, developing her own creative material for events and engaging with people on social media, as well as making an admirable move to have a multi-faith representative giving the opening prayers at the council meetings she chaired. Balancing working life with charity efforts, Councillor Miller worked hard during her mayoralty to raise in the region of £40,000 for her charities.

The Mayor organised a variety of events that were great fun, including a quiz night, a ‘Rock Choir’ concert, Christmas celebration as well as the annual Mayor’s Ball. This last event had a ‘Love Merton’ theme to highlight the good work that residents and volunteers do in Merton to make the borough a better place. Over 200 guests helped raise more than £19,000 at the ball.

The Mayor was proud to represent the borough at civic events throughout the year, including the commemoration of Remembrance Day, Armed Forces Day, a Nelson Mandela Memorial Service and the London Mayor’s Association Annual Civic Service event at the Abbey of Westminster.

The Mayor is particularly noted for her focus on volunteering and often took a hands-on approach in her support of various charitable events throughout the year. During Christmas, she helped the Doxa Deo Church to pack up over 500 hampers to go to families in need across the borough. The Mayor also worked with volunteers to clear out a disused area at the back of the Citizens Advice Bureau in Mitcham to make the centre a nicer place for residents to visit.

Working to highlight and support the work of local businesses in the borough, the Mayor hosted many business receptions to give Merton entrepreneurs a platform to network with each other and share their ideas. The Mayor worked alongside the local Guardian newspaper on the Merton Civic Awards and selected a local hero to win the Outstanding Achievement award.

The Mayor was delighted to welcome the first Prudential Ride London cycling festival to the borough where a member of Merton Council’s staff cycled on behalf of the Mayor’s charities, helping to raise more funds through sponsorship. During her mayoralty, Councillor Miller also unveiled the first digital photo archive with over 15,000 images of the borough’s past through the Merton Memories website, helping people to discover the borough’s history. She also opened the new spa at Wimbledon Leisure Centre, in her own ward.

The Mayor’s workload and achievements over her mayoral year would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of her Deputy Mayor, Councillor John Sargeant, and his wife, Deputy Mayoress Mrs Judy Sargeant. Between the Mayor and her Deputy, they have attended around 250 engagements.

The Mayor was ably and lovingly supported by her husband and Principal Consort Councillor Henry Nelless and her father and Consort Mr Kenneth Miller, family, and friends – without whom she could not have achieved so much in her year.

Mayor Miller is recognised by the council for her skill in chairing council meetings as well as her hard work, creativity and dedication to her charitable activities, and for her work representing the London Borough of Merton as a whole. Her personal qualities of organisation, ambition and good humour contributed to her very successful year in Merton.

Krystal Miller responded to the vote of thanks referring to a number of events and experiences during her mayoral year. She placed on record her thanks to a number of individuals for their support during her term of office, including the deputy mayor and the mayor’s office support staff. (A copy of her speech is included within Appendix B to these minutes)

A framed copy of the citation together with a past Mayor’s badge was presented to Krystal Miller.