THE inspiring achievements of community champions have been celebrated at a special awards ceremony in Penzance.

As part of the 45th Annual Mayor Choosing Ceremony of Penzance Council, which saw mayor of Penzance Stephen Reynolds re-elected for a historic third term, the Brian Spiegelhalter Citizen of the Year and Young Citizen of the Year were presented with their awards.

The Brian Spiegelhalter Citizen of the Year Awards were started in 2004 by the family of the late Brian Spiegelhalter, a previous mayor of Penzance, to celebrate the work of local people and their important contributions to our Parish community.

Following public nominations, the winners of this year’s awards were announced by Mayor of Penzance, Councillor Stephen Reynolds, and presented with an engraved pewter plate kindly provided by BJ Spiegelhalter & Son at the ceremony in St John’s Hall, Penzance on Monday, May 19.

This year’s Citizen of the Year is Vernon Durrant, who has been a member of the Royal British Legion for over 50 years. During that time, Vernon has dedicated himself to volunteering for his local branch in Heamoor, increasing Poppy sales in recent years from £3,500 to £22,808.45.

11-year-old Jack James was named Young Citizen of the Year, following his phenomenal 12-hour Drum-a-thon at Humphry Davy School earlier this year, which he undertook to raise money for cancer charities after his mum, Dawn, was sadly diagnosed with breast cancer.

As well as the Citizen of the Year Awards, nominations were invited for the annual Humphry Davy Prize, which is awarded to a student who has shown outstanding ability in the Sciences, demonstrating a ‘spirit of discovery’ following in the footsteps of ‘Penzance’s most famous son.’

This year, the prize was awarded to Isla Mulholland from Penwith College for her impressive academic achievements and her desire to use her STEM skills to work in innovative wildlife conservation projects.

The Mayor’s Sea Cadet for 2025/26 was also announced as sea cadet Thomas Kirk, who received his official badge of office to wear on his uniform when attending civic functions in the coming year.

Addressing the hall full of guests after being re-elected for a third consecutive year – the first Mayor of Penzance to be in 60 years – Cllr Stephen Reynolds commented:

“Yes, we do have challenges in our community; we have food poverty, we have a housing crisis, but we also have an amazing community spirit, and an amazing spirit of togetherness which is embodied in this room tonight.”

With the mayor, deputy mayor and civic deputies now elected, Penzance Council is inviting local residents to the Annual Town Meeting in St John’s Hall, Penzance, at 7pm on Thursday, May 29, where members of the public will have the opportunity to ask questions following presentations on topics concerning the future of Penzance – including Market House, Anti-Social Behaviour, the Sustainable Travel Network, and other projects in the parish.