Alcester’s new mayor and consort make a great team

“It feels great for the trust my fellow Alcester town councillors have shown in me. Alcester has a fantastic community spirit and it’s one of the reasons Sue and I moved here six years ago. The incredible work of the volunteers who step forward is also remarkable. And then there’s the history with our Roman town visitor experiences and the architecture – it’s like stepping back in to a bygone era.”

While he praised the history of Alcester, Cllr Bowe said the current generation could write the new history of the town and that everyone had a role to play in making that happen.

“I do feel it’s important to try and build on the fabulous work that former mayors have done and that is why Sue and I want to be part of this journey we are on. Working with fellow councillors and support agencies we can offer new skills to look after the town’s youngsters and keep them in this town and new skills for older people who might have retired but want to learn a new interest,” the mayor said.

In preparation for their roles, Mike, aged 73 and Sue,72, have already attended some taster events around town which has made it easier to “fit in quite well” and they’ve enjoyed a nice positive reaction from people.

The mayor, Cllr Mike Bowe, was born in Birmingham where he lived for many years before relocating to Solihull.

He and Sue spent three years in Henley in Arden before he and his wife moved to Alcester in September 2018.

“We decided to move here because of the welcoming nature and generosity of spirit shown to us by many people in the town. My motivation for wanting to become a town councillor was to help, in any way I could, support a sustainable future that benefits all residents in the town and becoming a councillor in May 2019 was a privilege,” Cllr Bowe said.

He and his wife celebrate 52 years of marriage this August and have two grown-up sons and while Sue’s devotion raised the family (Mike played his part too) he went off to work but is now retired.

“I am happily retired after spending 40 plus years in the retail automotive industry joining as an apprentice mechanic, I was able to develop a career encompassing all the many and varied functions of the industry holding several managerial positions, eventually becoming a director within a large public limited company,” Mike said.

The mayor has put local charities at the top of the agenda. He is a trustee of Alcester United Charities which helps vulnerable, elderly people in alms-houses in the town. He’s also a trustee of the Newport Schools Foundation.

One of his chosen charities this coming year is the Crafty Lunch Club which is a group for adults with learning and/or physical disabilities who meet to take part in a different craft each week, form friendships and share a hot meal together in Alcester.

Councillor Bowe said: “Alcester is an amazing town with a fantastic community spirit embedded in the character of the people, epitomised by the magnificent volunteers freely giving their time to support a multitude of events and activities for the benefit of their fellow residents. I am grateful for this opportunity to represent Alcester to the local and wider community over the next twelve months and am excited to follow in the footsteps of the mayors that have gone before me, I hope that I prove to be as able as they were.”

He thanked the retiring mayor, Councillor Vaughan Blake for his hard work, support, and dedication over the past year and described him as a “hard act to follow.”

Mayor Making for Alcester Town Council took place at Alcester War Memorial Town Hall on Tuesday 7th May and Councillor David Henderson has been elected as the deputy mayor.