WHITEHILL Town Council’s youngest town mayor took to the helm last Thursday, with Councillor Bisi Kennard donning the mayoral chains.

She officially took over from Cllr Katie Anscomb at the annual council meeting, with Cllr Catherine Clark stepping into the role of deputy mayor.

Cllr Kennard was elected to Whitehill Town Council in 2019, having served on Alton Town Council for four years since 2015 and previously working as a teacher at Eggar’s School.

Speaking after taking on her new role, Cllr Kennard confirmed she had ‘big plans’ for the upcoming year, in a bid to help support the community.

She said: “As mayor, for me it’s not really even about what I would do, it’s about what’s already happening in the community and highlighting that.

“Rather than having one charity that I support, I want to highlight and fundraise for a different sector in our community each month.

“We just have so many community groups that have already been putting in the hard work, I’d like to celebrate, highlight, promote, share and support them.”

Looking back at her career as both a councillor and a teacher – now working at Swanmore College in Hampshire – Cllr Kennard said the two have gone hand in hand.

She said: “I would say my career development has happened in line with the town council.

“I’ve been involved in the town council since I was 24. That’s kind of the only way I know how to be a grown-up.”

And on her passion for spreading positive messages, it started from a young age.

“She said: “I started school on the Isle of Wight – I was that little black girl who turned up who was also a Christian.

“My first time at school, I was praying over my lunch and the headteacher asked me: ‘What are you doing?’

“I explained why I was praying – and then I asked if I could explain to everyone what I was doing.

“Then there was the boy who tried to make fun of the colour of my skin.

“My response was to list 17 reasons why black is beautiful. The boy went home and his mother ended up calling my mum to ask: ‘‘Why has your daughter made my son wish he was black?’

“For me, sharing positives is what I do – I don’t know how to do anything else.

“That’s just what I do. It’s just who I am.”