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The Mayor's Charity Ball 2011
Reporter: Laura Wild
Date online: 14 May 2011
Over two hundred people from across the borough joined the Mayor of Rochdale on Saturday night (14 May) for the annual Mayor’s Charity Ball.
The Mayor, Councillor Zulfiqar Ali, was joined by his wife, Shaheen Akhtar for the occasion.
Guests, including local business owners, Councillors and Mayors from the surrounding boroughs, enjoyed a meal in the Great Hall and were entertained by Johnny Sax. They also took part in a charity auction and raffle.
All the funds raised from the evening, will go to the Mayor's Charities: Rochdale Shopmobility and Parkinson’s UK.
Mayor Ali, said: “It has been a fantastic night. We sold about 230 tickets; it’s not that often you get that kind of support.
“The past year has been brilliant, I have met some brilliant people and wherever I have been I have been welcomed with open arms, which has been great. I think the whole of Rochdale has been behind me.”
The Mayor also thanked everyone involved in arranging the charity ball.
The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Alan Godson simply said: “It is excellent.” Councillor Godson will take over the role as Mayor next week. He said: “I can’t wait.”
Ghulam Rasul Shahzad OBE, added: “It is wonderful, there are so many nice people here and it is an honour and a privilege to be here.”
Mr Shahzad said he was “proud” to be supporting the Mayor’s charities and through the mosques he hopes to raise money for future Mayors too.
Link4Life Managing Director, Craig McAteer, said the night was “fabulous.” He added: “It is nice to see everyone come together, especially in these times of austerity, to raise money for charity. There is a good mix of people here and it shows the diversity in Rochdale.”
Councillor Jean Ashworth added: “It is really nice; it is nice to put the elections behind us and to come together to represent the borough and to support the charities.”
Councillor Janet Darnbrough, echoed these thoughts, she said: “I am thoroughly enjoying it. It is very good to get all the other Mayors here and it a fantastic place to hold it.”
Councillor Anne Metcalfe added: “There is a very relaxing atmosphere. Lots of people are chatting to various tables and hopefully it will continue to be an excellent evening, it has been excellent so far.”
The Mayor of Whitworth, David Chorlton, said the night was “fantastic.”
Mayor Chorlton said he had become good friends with Mayor Ali over the past year, he said: “We had planned a get together so it is really nice to come here tonight, especially in such a gorgeous building.”
Comments
Well done to the Mayor, Councillor Zulfiqar Ali, and the Mayoress, Shaheen Akhtar. You have done a fantastic job representing Rochdale and being the First Citizen of our Borough. I am sure that like always, you will continue to work for the people of Rochdale. Please just ignore people that do not have anything better to do than criticise others. Indeed the whole of Rochdale has been behind you and I am pretty sure that this will remain. Good Luck for the future and once again well done!
It is absolutely awesome to see that the Rochdale Mayor has done an excellent job in raising thousands of pounds for the vulunerable people who are suffering from Parkinsons and those who have disabilties. It is also a great privilege to see that he has being appointed as the deputy leader of his party.
Imranalikhan, is the comment you wrote above regarding a personal issue that you may have with the mayor or is it just jealousy? I think that it might be the latter. It's either jealousy or something to do with family politics. It always is. Or is it that you just can't accept the fact that someone like the mayor has achieved so much in so little time.
What sad people we have in Rochdale. Is this how low some of the residents are? No wonder we aren't going anywhere as a town. It really is sad.
Imranalikhan, so I guess this means that he won't be getting your vote next year. Don't get me wrong, but I assume that the mayor was on about the people of Rochdale being behind him for his mayoral year, not about his time as a councillor. During his mayoral year I believe, working with him as a community volunteer, he has achieved a lot, including thousands of pounds for his charities, something in the region of £15,000, which is a lot of money in these tough times when every pound is crucial.
Imranalikhan, you are a let down to the community. Reading the comment that you have wrote makes me assume that you have some sort of personal problems with the mayor. We shouldn't involve our personal issues/problems into politics, instead we should all unite to work for a better Rochdale, help and elect someone who will work for us, raise our concerns and be a voice for us. Having worked alongside the mayor, I know that the community will back him and support him again.
Have Your Say
"I think the whole of Rochdale has been behind me.” Well we will see in May 2012 when you are up for re-election.
By imranalikhan @ 16/05/2011 13:52:44