Tenby’s new mayor has asked the town’s people to give a little bit more of their time to help keep the resort ‘the jewel in the crown’ of Pembrokeshire by volunteering their help where it’s needed with any upkeep projects.

Clr. Tony Brown was officially sworn in as the town’s 630th Mayor at Friday night’s ceremony held in the Mayor’s Parlour, followed by a civic reception at the De Valence Pavilion.

At the occasion he said that he was enthusiastic to show his support for all the local charitable events taking place during his term, along with the many sporting events that they were lucky to have take place in and around Tenby.

Clr. Brown, who works as a taxi driver in and around Tenby, first joined the town council in 2012, briefly leaving in between, before returning to the role in 2017.

Welcoming guests to the occasion of Mayor Making, including the chairman of Pembrokeshire County Council, Clr. Brown started by thanking the staff of the Qube for the fantastic food and service, before going onto praise the venue, stating that the De Valence continued to go from ‘strength to strength’.

“I put myself forward this year to be Mayor as I want to represent and promote this town as best as I can as I’ve seen other previous mayors do,” he said.

“I was born and raised here in Tenby as most of you will know, and I can’t think of anywhere else I would live to be honest - the beauty that surrounds us here is one in a million, and it is a great place to raise a family.”

Clr. Brown said that he met his wife Sarah (who will be his Mayoress for the term) in Tenby after she came here many years ago to set up the Gateways store initially for a short time...“but I don’t know if it was me she fell in love with or the town!” he joked.

The new Mayor said that his focus this year was to promote Tenby, by way of sporting events and charity work.

“Tenby has grown very sporty over the years with Carten, Long Course Weekend, Ironman and numerous other events which has brought a tremendous boost to the area.” continued Clr. Brown.

“This year we celebrate 10 years of the Long Course where it all started, whilst it’s also Tenby Aces’ charity year and as always they raise a lot of money for good courses.

“We also have Dai Morgan with friends and family and Tenby CC riding from Harrogate to Tenby - 272 miles in 36 hours to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, so join me in saying good luck to these groups this year and if you can, why not greet the riders on June 22 when they reach town around 6 pm.

“This year the coffers to do things around Tenby look a bit bare with budget cuts so I am asking the people of the town and clubs for a little bit of their time - even if it’s only half an hour or so to help us keep Tenby the jewel in the crown by volunteering some time to help with things such as painting benches, clearing weeds from areas of the town. Pop into the town council offices at the De Valence to see if there’s anything you might be able to support with.

Lastly, Clr. Brown gave his thanks to outgoing Mayor Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane.

“She’s always got the heart of Tenby beating in her. I’d also like to thank my fellow councillors for having the confidence in me to do this office and town proud,” he added.

Clr. Mrs. Christine Brown, will continue in her role as Deputy Mayor of Tenby, whilst reappointed as Sergeant at Arms was John Morgan, Denise Cousins as Sergeant at Mace, and Jim Cornwell as town crier.

Pics. Gareth Davies Photography