New Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Buckingham appointed at Mayor Making ceremony

Buckingham’s new town mayor and deputy mayor were formally appointed at the annual Mayor Making ceremony on Friday, June 2.

Cllr Anja Schaefer was voted in as mayor by the other members of Buckingham Town Council.

She said: “It was a great honour to be made the Mayor of Buckingham and wonderful that so many people were able to be at the Mayor Making to celebrate with us. I look forward to serving the people of Buckingham as their mayor in the next 12 months.”

Cllr Ade Osibogun, who was appointed deputy mayor, has been a town councillor for the past two years and is a qualified lawyer, educator and an arbitrator.

Mayor Making is a formal ceremony that confirms the town council’s choice for mayor and deputy mayor.

The Town Council was joined at Buckingham Community Centre by dignitaries, including Deputy Lord Lieutenant Carolyn Cumming and Bucks Council vice-chair Mimi Harker. Mayors from the neighbouring towns of Winslow, Brackley, Banbury, Aylesbury, Leighton Linslade and Milton Keynes also joined the celebrations.

The event raised £2,000 for the Mayor’s Charities 2022-2023, which remain as the Jedidiah Project and Buckingham Food Bank.

This year’s community awards were as follows:

Honorary Freeman

Mike Smith for his many years of service to the town.

Barbara Farmer for her 35 years of service as Buckingham’s Mace Bearer.

Friend of Buckingham

Tony Mayston for his many contributions to the town as school governor, trustee of Buckingham Community Centre, treasurer of The Buckingham Society, and involvement in the Buckingham Community Plan;

Simon Wells for his sterling work in developing North Bucks Carers, managing the Buckingham & Winslow Young Carers (YC2) youth club and for his work in supporting local families;

Mary Simons for her work on developing the town’s Traders’ Association, her work with the Pontio Group, and the Fair-trade Steering Group;

Derek Croft for his many years of work at Buckingham Secondary School;

Rosemary Frohock for her help in standing in as mace bearer and her work with the Scout organisation;

Russell Cross for his years of service as Buckingham’s Town Crier.

Arts and Sports Award

Buckingham Art for All for being a strong and vibrant local group that encourages and supports local artists.

Natural Environment and Climate Champion Award

Buckingham Canal Society for their years of service to improving and renovating the canal.

Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise Award

The Community Lunch which is held every week and welcomes local residents for a free lunch. It has also welcomed the Ukrainian people staying in the town and the residents currently staying at a local hotel.

Mayor’s Prize for Outstanding Young Person

Chantel Tunks for her contributions at the Youth Club and assistance with weekly bingo sessions throughout the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Margaret Gateley was also awarded a crystal vase as a mark of her service as Mayor of Buckingham 2021–2023.

Cheques were also given out to the Mayor’s Charities for 2021-2023, Jedidiah UK and Buckingham Food Bank, which were each awarded £1,000 from fundraising projects and collections at events during the last year.

The town council also awarded grants to 17 local groups, with members invited to attend and receive their charity cheques.