The Mayor invited Councillor David Chung 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 along with the Leader of the Merton Park Ward Independent Residents Group, Councillor Peter Southgate (A copy of these speeches are attached as Appendix C to these minutes)and Councillor Martin Whelton spoke in praise of Councillor David Chung’s year in office.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

That the Council places on record its sincere thanks and appreciation to Councillor David Chung for the dedicated manner in which he has served as Mayor of the London Borough of Merton for the year 2015-2016.

Mayoral Citation:

Councillor David Chung. Mayor of Merton 2015-2016

At the time of his election as Mayor in May 2015, Councillor David Chung had completed 13 years as a councillor representing residents in Longthornton ward, Mitcham.

Councillor Chung has taken every opportunity to highlight the good things in Merton and has attended 333 engagements in his mayoral year. The Mayor’s chosen charities for 2015-2016 were Merton Centre for Independent Living and Friends In St Helier. He also supported the children’s charity One Life. Councillor Chung very much focussed on community organisations representing the more vulnerable in the borough.

During his mayoralty, Councillor Chung raised the profile of disabled people in Merton, recognising that further work needs to be done with regards to people who live with disabilities. He emphasised the need to work with the Social Model of Disability. He also sought to shine a light on elderly people in Merton, in particular, those who live on their own, and on issues around growing older. He supported the Silver Sunday initiative and invited over 120 older people and their carers to afternoon tea. At this memorable event, he spoke about the importance of keeping active and also of how friendship helps to maintain a healthy body and mind. He demonstrated his commitment to championing health by completing a sponsored swim at Canons Leisure Centre, highlighting the importance of exercise.

Councillor Chung’s love of music and of education shone through as he organised a ‘Winter Warmer’ concert, produced by Merton Music Foundation. Attended by 280 people, this charity event brought together an eclectic wealth of musical talent from children across Merton and raised over £1,500 for his charities.

The Mayor visited many schools and spoke to the children about democracy and the role of the Mayoralty. He also invited the borough’s headteachers to the Mayor’s parlour.

The Mayoress and the Mayor visited 144 businesses in the Mitcham area and held three receptions for the business community in recognition and appreciation of their role as the wealth producers in the borough. Councillor Chung also hosted a reception in honour of Faith in Action’s Merton Homelessness Project.

The Mayor has a love of cricket and has forged a link with the Lord’s Taverners, a charity which gives young people a sporting chance. He negotiated with the CEO of the Berkeley Foundation to include Merton as a participant in the Lord Taverners Disability Cricket Championship. With Merton School Sport Partnership, the borough will participate in the Lord’s Taverners’ Disability Cricket Championship each year.  As part of this project, the Mayor also successfully set up with the Berkeley Foundation, an opportunity for eight young people from the borough to attend Longridge Activity Centre during the summer holidays.

Councillor Chung has also initiated an annual cricket competition to encourage further integration among the many diverse communities within Merton. Enabling teams from different backgrounds to play together and to give young people the opportunity to continue playing once they have left school, are two of the motivations behind this initiative. Councillor Chung has instigated work to form a committee to continue this initiative into the future.

Mitigating climate change is also close to the Mayor’s heart and he has supported the Going Green event at South Thames College, which celebrated environmentally-conscious businesses in the borough. He was also guest of honour at Merton’s environmental sub-group in early 2016 at which experts from the community discussed how the borough could plan for a low carbon future.

Throughout his mayoralty, Councillor Chung has focused on the unsung heroes of the borough – those people who do so much for the benefit of our communities, but who are rarely praised for their work. In recognition of the work of carers who provide care and support to vulnerable individuals, the Mayor hosted a reception for people in 34 organisations including Mencap.

The New Year’s Day Parade in Central London was a great highlight of the year, displaying Merton’s talent for creativity and the arts with its fantastic magic carpet-themed float. This brought in £4,000 for the Mayor’s charities.

The theme for the Mayor’s Charity Ball reflected the flora and fauna of Councillor Chung’s homeland, Guyana. The All England Lawn Tennis Club was adorned with beautiful photographs of the rainforest and many of the animals who live there. Impressive photographs of Guyana’s Kaiteur Falls were also on show, enabling the Mayor to highlight his passions for the natural environment and his position on what should be done to minimise the effects of climate change. Over 184 guests supported the fundraising night raising in excess of £8,500. Adding this to all the other fund-raising events the Mayor has organised, his chosen charities will benefit from a share of about £40,000.

The complete and unstinting support of his wife of 47 years, the Mayoress Mrs Irina Chung, a Christian, played a significant part in the achievements of the Mayor’s mayoralty. Recognition is also due for his Deputy Mayor, Councillor Pauline Cowper and the support of her consort and husband, Michael Cowper.

A humanist himself, the Mayor invited representatives of a variety of faiths to conduct the reflection at council, building social cohesion by celebrating differences.

Councillor Chung is recognised by the council for his community-focused work and his unstinting support of disabled people and the elderly in Merton. His belief in the importance of community and the part that everyone has to play in making Merton a successful place has resulted in a very rewarding mayoral year.