Havering’s first citizen hits the ground running in charity effort

Cllr Philippa Crowder, who is the 53rd mayor of the borough, says she was “ecstatic” to be given the role back in May.

She said: “I am really proud and honoured that my fellow colleagues have confidence in me to represent the borough.

“The goal is to meet as many people as I can, so far I have fit in everyone that has written in to me.

The new mayor has been quick to get the ball rolling in terms of fundraising after setting an ambitious target of £50,000 this year.

On July 2, guests were invited to dress to impress at the summer black tie event at Upminster Golf Club while helping to raise over £4,000.

Cllr Crowder said: “I want to make a difference to charities and I’m meeting more and more every day.

“As much as I want to help everyone, unfortunately I can’t and I still have two in mind on who I will choose later this year.

“Picking the charities is extremely hard but I will try and always visit anyone that gets in touch about an event.”

After chairing a third lively full council meeting last week, Havering’s first citizen is becoming accustomed to the role and says she is enjoying the responsibility.

Cllr Crowder said: “I did some research beforehand on the role of the mayor chairing meetings.

“The idea is to be a referee who is there conducting and being fair to everyone.

“I understand I have taken on a huge commitment but I am thoroughly enjoying chairing the meetings.”

Outside council meetings, Cllr Crowder has a jam-packed schedule.

In the last two weeks, she has attended a total of 36 events and functions.

The past mayor attended 575 events throughout the year but Cllr Crowder has also set her sights on reaching the 600 mark.

She said: “I have to be a winner, so I will be doing at least 600!

“I am a hard taskmaster and always set myself big targets, it’s just the person I am.

“Despite how busy I am, I know at the end of the year I will be quite upset to give this up.”