Cllr Richard Holmes from Garvagh was nominated to be the new Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council by the Ulster Unionist Party at the Annual General Meeting.
After accepting the nomination he said:
“I’m deeply honoured to have been nominated by my Party Colleagues to take on the role of Mayor of causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council for 2021/22.
This is not a role I ever thought I would assume but God opens doors and we should make the most of the opportunities He provides.
I would echo the tributes paid by the outgoing Mayor to the work of the council staff who have kept vital functions running throughout the pandemic and also to the National Health Service who have been the front line. We should also thank those in retail and industry who have managed to make a way where perhaps 15 months ago it seemed there was no way.
I know that in this country there is so much that we don’t agree on. Northern Ireland gets called the North, Londonderry – Derry and Causeway Coast and Glens referred to as Causeway. Somewhere someone is always feeling irritated. But I think we can all agree on one name – HOME.
Bruce Springsteen once sang the lyrics:
“My father said “Son, we’re lucky in this town,
It’s a beautiful place to be born.
It just wraps its arms around you,
Nobody crowds you and nobody goes it alone”
I know every councillor is as passionate about their home area as I am about Garvagh. We all love this beautiful place. And we all want to make it the best it can possibly be.
That means working together to ensure nowhere and no one is left behind. After the year we’ve just had that is more critical than ever as families, businesses and communities recover. As a council and as councillors it is our job to lead.
Our council is not perfect but it is up to us as leaders to ensure it is the best it can possibly be. Staff should be proud to work for a great organisation and the public should have confidence in our functions and our decisions. Undermining that trust helps no one.
During the incoming year I want to focus on business, communities and tourism. I want us to continue to help locally established businesses and new start-ups. I want us to build our communities – making them strong and cohesive. We are Northern Ireland’s jewel in the crown of the tourist industry, and we want to see it grow once more.
A friend sent me Philippians 4:8-9, a few days ago which I’ll conclude with:
“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”
I hope that during the next year that those verses may be a mantra for us all.”
