Rotherham mayor completed 720 civic engagements in one year

Civic duty: New Rotherham Mayor Alan Buckley presents his predecessor Coun Eve Keenan with a gift to recognise her work during a year in office.

Coun Buckley replaces Coun Eve Keenan in the position, after a year which has seen her attend 720 civic engagements on behalf of the council.

She also announced at the mayor-making ceremony that, in addition to supporting three charities during her year as mayor, she had also been able to develop a new charity called Rose Bud in conjunction with businesses in the town, to help support emerging artists.

The charity will run initially for six months and may continue beyond that point if successful, offering grants of between £50 and £250 to emerging artists who struggle to afford the materials they need for their work.

She told Rotherham Council: “I find young artists often struggle with the money needed for materials and they are often out of pocket.”

She said she was “proud” to be able to announce the new partnership.

“It is a great way to see the impact small amounts of funding can have,” she said.

Coun Buckley represents the Brinsworth ward and has a career as parish and ward councillor sparked while serving as a Rotherham firefighter by his then sub-officer, Fred Wright.

“I remember years ago as a boy going to see the mayor’s parade and never imagined it could be me,” he said.

During his year in office he will be supporting the Firefighters’ charity, Rotherham Headway, which works with those suffering brain injuries, and the lesser known Dr Ted’s Children, which has been involved with Rotherham Hospital since 2012, working to improve conditions for children being treated there, through means such as revamping play areas, providing rooms for family members to use and helping with some medical equipment.