The inspirational achievements of community champions, an aspiring environmental scientist and a much-loved Town Crier have been celebrated at a special awards ceremony in Penzance.
As part of the 46th Annual Mayor Choosing Ceremony of Penzance Council, which saw new Mayor of Penzance Cllr Andy Law, unanimously elected, the first set of awards presented were the Brian Spiegelhalter Citizen of the Year and Young Citizen of the Year.
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 outgoing Mayor of Penzance, Councillor Stephen Reynolds, and presented with an engraved pewter plate kindly provided by BJ Spiegelhalter & Son at the ceremony in The Ritz, Penzance on Monday 18th May.
This year’s Citizen of the Year is Steve Colenso, a proud Cornishman who works tirelessly to help vital services and charities. Born and bred in Newlyn, Steve has been the force behind 18 years’ worth of charity auctions and has helped to raise a staggering £97,670 for various local and national charities including Cornwall Air Ambulance, St Julia’s Hospice Hayle, West Cornwall Hospital Penzance and Cancer Research UK. Steve’s next auction is on Saturday 3rd October for St Julia’s Hospice where he’s hoping to hit the magical £100,000!
Year 10 student from, Rohan Monaghan-Jenkin, was named this year’s Young Citizen of the Year. Rohan is a key member of the side which became County Champions earlier this year, but it’s the work he does with younger students, often unseen by his peers, and how hard he works to help anyone out that makes him stand out as this year’s Young Citizen. He leads primary school music sessions at Mounts Bay Academy and helps to coach younger rugby groups at his club every Friday. He gives them confidence and enables them to try things they would never have thought possible.
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 Victoria Peters from Penwith College for her impressive independent study on ecological succession occurring at the Mexico Towans sand dune ecosystem along the north coast of Cornwall. Victoria is a dedicated student and, inspired by her diverse reading and independent research, plans to continue her environmental studies beyond college.
The Mayor’s Sea Cadet for 2026/27 was also announced as Sea Cadet Isabella Nowell, who received her official badge of office to wear on her uniform when attending civic functions in the coming year.
The Council also bid a fond farewell to retiring Town Crier Phil Northcott. Quite literally the Voice of Penzance, Phil has been a great ambassador for the parish and for Town Criers as a whole, having won a significant number of competitions during his 8 years in office. He was presented with a framed certificate and pewter tankard engraved with the town’s Coat of Arms.
With Phil’s departure, Penzance Council now has a vacancy for a new Town Crier and will be holding auditions in due course.
Presenting these awards was the last act of the now Former Mayor of Penzance, Cllr Stephen Reynolds and he commented:
“It is quite fitting that at the very end of my time in office, I was able once again to shine a spotlight on some of the countless local people who give unsparingly of their time and effort to help and support their fellow-citizens. Our community is blessed to have so many open-hearted and generous folk in its midst.”
