Councillor Neil Butters is Bath & North East Somerset Council’s new Chairman for 2013/14 after being elected at the Annual General Meeting by councillors.
His theme for the year around which his activities, engagements, and charity fundraising will be based is ‘supporting communities to prepare for the future’.
Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Butters, who represents Bathavon South ward and lives in South Stoke, said, “I am very honoured to have been selected by my colleagues as the Civic face of the Council for the following year.
“It is important that given the fact that society is getting older and fewer public resources are available, we all start preparing for a very different future than the past. I will be championing small grants for communities to prepare for this future, particularly in respect of bringing old buildings back into use.
“I’m also forward to working hard to meet as many people from as many different backgrounds and communities as possible. This includes raising money for my selected charities.”
The Chairman’s Charities are the RUH Forever Friends Appeal, Quartet Community Foundation, St. John’s Hospital, Age UK Bath & North East Somerset, and the Research Institute for the Care of Older People.
Any organisation who would like to invite Councillor Butters to an event is encouraged to contact the Civic Office on [email protected] or telephone 01225 394235.
The Vice-Chairman of the Council was selected as Councillor Martin Veal who represents Bathavon North ward. He will deputise for Councillor Butters when he is unavailable and is looking forward to supporting the Chairman throughout the year.
He recently retired from a railway career spanning 47 years, having worked at almost all levels in the industry. For the past 15 years, he has served as Secretary to the Railway Heritage Committee – a national statutory body.
During the mid-80s, he worked on secondment from British Rail for two years as an Assistant Director of Bath Enterprise Ltd, at Green Park Station. During this period, he gained an MBA Degree in Business Development at City University Business School.
He previously served as a Borough Councillor in Swindon for a total of nine years, and was twice Chairman of parish councils in Wiltshire.
