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V28-3 : RETIRING CHAIRMAN

A vote of thanks to the retiring Chairman, Councillor Taylor, was proposed by Councillor Hunter who reminded Councillor Taylor that in his acceptance speech he reflected back to his teens when serving as a regular soldier. Councillor Hunter reminded members that Councillor Taylor had said that he had always been told never to volunteer for anything, and finding himself in a position of acceptance clearly felt that yes was the only answer.

Councillor Hunter felt sure that he was speaking for everyone when he said that we were pleased that Councillor Taylor did say yes, and sincerely hoped that both he and his wife Carol were also glad that he had accepted the office of Chairman. Councillor Hunter went on to emphasise Councillor Taylor's strength of how well he knew the District, especially the rural parishes. He informed Councillors that Councillor Taylor had been proud to liaise with the rural parishes over issues of concern which had been raised with him when visiting parish meetings. Councillor Hunter remembered some advice that Councillor Taylor had given him, that "you have to get out there, meet the people and find out the problem then go back again and tell them what you have done about it". Councillor Taylor had clearly done this and when meeting people with his wife Carol had flown the flag for Waveney and represented the Council well.

Councillor Hunter appreciated the amount of time and effort Councillor Taylor had put into the civic role which had not gone unnoticed, and reflected that each Chairman carried this role differently. Directing his comments to Councillor Taylor he offered the thanks of members for doing it his way. He also thanked Councillor Taylor for being an ambassador in the truest sense and offered best wishes to Councillor Taylor and his wife Carol and reminded Councillor Taylor that his memories of his year would always be with him and be an important part of this life. Councillor Hunter felt that members would be proud to have been a part of those memories. In conclusion, he presented Councillor Taylor with a framed photograph to mark his service as Chairman of Waveney District Council 1999/2000.

Councillor Rose, for the Conservative Group, endorsed all that Councillor Hunter had said about Councillor Taylor. Before talking about Councillor Taylor he congratulated Councillor R. Carter on her appointment as Chairman. Councillor Rose reflected that he had known Councillor Taylor for more years that he would care to remember, and he felt that Councillor Taylor had done a very good job for the District and had an intimate knowledge of the area. He reflected on one memorable occasion when he and Councillor Taylor went to Homersfield to plant a tree but unfortunately it turned out to be a planting without a tree. They both therefore retired to the "Black Swan". In turning to Councillor Taylor he felt that he had represented the Council well, particularly visiting all the different parts of the District, and irrespective of politics everyone was grateful for what Councillor Taylor had done during his year.

Councillor Young, for the Liberal Democrats, also congratulated Councillor R. Carter on her appointment as Chairman. Turning to Councillor Taylor he reflected on his fondest memory of him and his wife Carol, when they attended a three day visit to Plaisir. He reflected on the car journey from Lowestoft to Stanstead where Carol had laid down the ground rules as soon as he had sat in the car by saying "well boys I don't want either or you talking politics or else". Not knowing what "else" meant Councillor Young kept quiet. Councillor Young felt it had been a memorable visit, and in particular Councillor Taylor and Carol had been tremendous ambassadors for Waveney. Councillor Young was therefore pleased to be able to return the honour when Councillor Taylor and Carol were guests at a fund-raising event for Kosovo. The only problem was that it seemed that both Councillor Taylor and Carol won virtually all the star prizes.
The last memory that Councillor Young had of Councillor Taylor was on the massive occasion of the millennium celebrations. This was a memorable evening that Councillor Taylor and his wife Carol should be justly proud of, as those in Waveney had been of his year in office as Chairman.

In reply Councillor Taylor congratulated Councillor R. Carter on her election to the position of Chairman of the Council and expressed his appreciation for the comments that had been made about him.

In reflecting on his year Councillor Taylor expressed that there were many highlights within a person's life, it could be a graduation, a wedding day or the birth of your first child. Sometimes these special days stretch into weeks and months. Councillor Taylor had had the honour and privilege of having a whole year being a representative of this Council. Each function attended was different from the other, each being a pleasure and a pride being this Council's ambassador on these occasions. Councillor Taylor felt it was difficult to highlight one above another but when pushed the millennium celebrations took pride of place with the lighting of the beacon and later leading 40,000 people into the New Year. Councillor Taylor reflected that during his walkabout the atmosphere was so electric that he overstayed his time by an hour. During that time many people thanked him for the event but Councillor Taylor said that it was not him, but that he represented a number of people who had given their time up to make the evening a success.

Councillor Taylor thanked the Chairman of the Council for her Vice-Chairmanship and he thanked the members of the Council particularly at Council meetings. Councillor Taylor went on to make special mention of Janet Cutts for arranging his diary and as a mark of his appreciation presented Janet with a bouquet of flowers.

He thanked his wife Carol for supporting him during his year as Chairman and again as a mark of his appreciation he presented his wife with a bouquet of flowers. He also thanked the drivers for getting him to the events on time.

In conclusion, he expressed his best wishes to Councillor R. Carter and hoped that her year of office would be as rewarding to her as it was for him. He presented the Council with a gift of an embroidered picture depicting the major historical events of the last millennium which had taken two local ladies 700 hours to complete for the meeting.


Volume 28 Minute 3

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