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New Mayor announced for city of Newport

Newport City Council has welcomed councillor Ray Mogford as the 392nd Mayor of Newport.
Councillor Mogford was born and brought up in Newport. He attended Hartridge High School and later joined the Royal Air Force where he studied avionics. After leaving the RAF he worked in the semiconductor industry and retired in 2022.

Since being first elected to the council in 2012 councillor Mogford has served on a number of council committees, including the planning committee and the governance and audit committees.

Most recently he has been chair of the democratic services committee and is on the board of governors at Langstone and Llanmartin primary schools.

Councillor Mogford will be joined by his wife, Sallie, as mayoress.

He said: “Sallie and I are very excited to take up the positions of mayor and mayoress and look forward to a very active year.”

The mayor has chosen the charities that he will support during his year in office: Sparkle and the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA).

Sparkle is a charity that helps Gwent children and young people with complex needs.

Full support is given to them and their families to enable them to participate in valued childhood experiences and have access to the same range of opportunities, life experiences, activities, and community services as any other child and their family.

Life can be challenging for some of these children and young people and their families and Sparkle is always fundraising to provide unique services, trained staff and state-of-the-art equipment to ensure the highest quality facilities and support are in place.

SARA is a volunteer lifeboat and inland search and rescue charity which was founded in 1973.

It has seven lifeboat and rescue stations along the length of the River Severn, with local rescue stations include Newport and Chepstow. Each year the crew respond to hundreds of calls and provide specialist capabilities and equipment to support the emergency services.

Councillor Chris Reeks will hold the role of deputy mayor for 2024/25 with his wife Jane as deputy mayoress.

Councillor Reeks has been a Newport City Councillor since 2022. He owns and runs a manufacturing business in the city which employs local people where he likes to deal with local companies where possible to support and grow the local economy.

Councillor Reeks said: “I very much enjoy being able to help and support the residents of Rogerstone North ward and Newport as a whole, and always aim to make a difference where I can to people’s lives.

“It is a great honour for me to be elected as deputy mayor and along with my wife as deputy mayoress, we look forward to doing our best on behalf of Newport’s residents and the city itself.”

Retiring mayor, Councillor Trevor Watkins and Mayoress Catherine Karlson were thanked for their year of service.