Mayor - general information

Mayor of Carlisle 2008/2009

The Right Worshipful The Mayor of Carlisle Councillor Mrs Jacquelyne Geddes

Addressed as "Madam Mayor".

Background History

Born in August 1952, to parents Sally and Jack Kirkup of Longtown, her Father was a long-serving MOD Longtown employee, and her Mother worked at Carr’s of Carlisle, before raising five children.

She was educated at Lochinvar School in Longtown, Caldew School, Dalston (Prefect), Carlisle Technical College (OND in Business Studies) and Carlisle College of Art and Design.

On completion of her formal education with a Diploma in Graphic Design and S.I.A.D. (Society of Industrial Artists and Designers) recognition, she worked for THM Design, Holborn, London specialising in package design, before returning to Carlisle in 1973.

Family

She married William Geddes in 1972 and retrained in personnel with Metal Box and Carrington Viyella. She lived in Stanwix, Carlisle, for 37 years and has two sons Jonathan and Richard.

Jonathan is currently working in Lancaster as a Studio Manager in Graphic Design (he also studied at the Cumbria Institute of the Arts). Richard is working in Carlisle as an electrician. Both are married and a granddaughter, Ella, was born to Richard and his wife Kelly, in May 2007.

Interests

She is a former member of the PTA (Parent/Teachers Association) of Stanwix Primary School and was part of the governing body for ten years. In 2000, she became Chairman of Governors overseeing the £1.2m investment into school buildings. She has served and supported the Stanwix Community Association Committee since it was set up.

She has travelled extensively throughout Africa, the Far East and the Eastern Bloc. She became a founding member of Carlisle Chernobyl Children in Danger, an organisation which brought groups of children with cancer to Carlisle for recuperative care. She also funded the education of a young Belarussian girl, Irina, and, for the last nine years, Sammy Pascha, a South African boy, who hopes to come to Carlisle in the near future.

Her other interests include Reading, Music (especially Jazz), Ethnic Cookery, and being a Grandmother.

Political History

She is a City Councillor for the Stanwix Urban Ward, and was first elected to Carlisle City Council in 1993. She has served on many committees including Personnel, Leisure, and was Chairman of the DSO (Direct Services Organisation). In 2001, she was appointed to the Executive, firstly holding the Corporate Resources Portfolio, then the Learning Development Portfolio. She was Deputy Mayor in 2007, Chaired the Audit Committee, and is the City Council’s Fairtrade Champion for Carlisle.

She has also served on many Committees and Outside Bodies including:

• Chairman of Cumbria Neighbourhood Watch Association.
• ML&WG (Members Learning & Development Working Group), being Chairman from the start and gaining the Charter for Members’ Development for the Authority in 2005.
• ECCH (East Cumbria Community Health Council) member, and assisted in raising standards of the food in the Cumberland Infirmary.
• St Martin’s College Governor while it merged with other Colleges to form the University of Cumbria.
• NWEO (North West Employers’ Organisation) Executive, and was Chairman of the Regional Overview Committee.
• NAC (National Association of Councillors), and has been Chairman of the English Region for the last three years.
• Connected Cumbria Partnership which saw the development of the Cumbria Information Hub.
• Learning and Skills Council (which achieved the "Go Award" from NWEO, being the first District Authority to do so in 2007).