LYMM May Queen Chair, local Cllr. Kath Buckley has decided to retire after 10 years of voluntary service on the organising committee, the last five as Chair.
She took the decision after presenting her annual report at a committee meeting last week.
She took the decision to stand down with a number of other committee members, including members of the Broadsmith family, who have supported the event for many years.
Reflecting on her 10 years involved Cllr Buckley said: “After attending a meeting on the behest of concerned individuals I offered as a Parish Councillor to step in and be the temporary Secretary as the Committee had no secretary. This led to me being the secretary for many years, and as such, I got grants et al over £4,000 to keep the May Queen afloat, secured the construction of the second entrance to the May Queen Field etc. I became Chair of the May Queen and soon after Chair and Secretary. My decision to hold the May Queen in September 2021 was justified – the Village saw it as a great way to cheer themselves up at the end of Covid restrictions. To date the May Queen is thriving – my vision of the event being a Village Fair whilst continuing the traditions has been realised.
“This year we had yet again a superb procession, an excellent variety of stalls and great arena events. The retinue as always was immaculate. Everyone pitched in and we managed through the efforts of Ray and Chris to get our full complement of Marshalls. The Programme was also excellent and many thanks to all those who got them circulated through Lymm. The move to have overnight security was a good decision. We have continued to champion only local businesses at our event and this has been appreciated.
“I cannot thank the Broadsmith Family enough for keeping this wonderful tradition going and putting in so much time and effort. Ways forward are: to pursue the use of a card reader for the gates and to consider it being just a field event to minimise risk to the committee.
Cllr Buckley added: “I have enjoyed my time as Chair but now it is time to move on after 10 years and I wish you every success for the future.”
After the meeting Cllr Buckley said she had left the festival in a “healthy position” and circa £7.5k in the black, with the average cost of staging the event £4,000.
She said it was now time for her to move on.
