The Mayor began “honoured and distinguished guests, friends, colleagues and fellow councillors, I would like to welcome you and to thank you for showing your interest and support by being here today”.

She said that she was proud and honoured to stand here as the elected Mayor of this great, vibrant and diverse borough.

Her fellow councillors had bestowed a great privilege and responsibility upon her and she expressed her sincere appreciation to everyone for placing their trust in her.

She took the responsibility and the trust that the members had shown in her very seriously and was committed to serve the people of Enfield to the best of her ability and with enthusiasm, compassion and devotion to the community.

1.               Thank yous

The Mayor said that this very special speech was one of thanks. Thanks to members individually and collectively for enabling her to take the Mayoral Office for a year.

She thanked her entire family, her beloved husband Ismet Karakus and her children, Destiny and Efran, other friends and family members all for their tireless support and understanding over the recent months in her political role as she prepared to become a councillor.

She thanked Jeremy Chambers, Director of Law & Governance and the Officers in Democratic Services and the Mayor’s Office for their invaluable help and support during the run up to the evening’s ceremony.

2.               Background

The Mayor said that she had been born in Turkey and had moved to London with her family as a child, attending Princess May Primary School in Hackney. 

At the age of 11, her family moved to Enfield where she had attended the Lea Valley High School and Enfield College.  She had run her own health and beauty clinic in Edmonton, as well as getting involved in local community theatre and writing scripts for plays and directing groups for performances at the Millfield Theatre.  Her plays delivered messages of love, humanity and inclusion, irrelevant of religion, language, gender or borders.

3.               Future Plans

The Mayor vowed to serve the London Borough of Enfield to the best of her ability and promised to support and to encourage all the agencies and voluntary sector units that worked so tirelessly to provide excellent services to those who needed it most.  She was hoping to work closely with those involved with community safety in the Borough and the Police.  As well as supporting the local NHS service and Enfield schools in their plight to provide an invaluable service with the current limited resources.  She was especially interested in touching the lives of those living in a lonely and isolated environment, in need of a helping hand. 

The Mayor said that she was hoping to gain as much support as possible during her mayoral year, through her charity, by working closely with many voluntary sector groups to include as many “hard to reach” communities as possible.

She was proud to be a resident of Enfield, where the community as a whole was one of plentiful culture and diversity and felt that this should be celebrated to encourage each and every family to feel welcome and part of something very special. 

She ended by thanking everyone for their valued support and hoped that they would enjoy the evening ahead.