The 11th May 2009 was an important date in the very crowded diary of HRG Cllr Liz Hodgkin. On that day, Liz was officially voted in by her fellow councillors as Mayor of Henley-on-Thames. Was she looking forward to the big day? - You bet she was.

Before Liz was elected to the Town Council in 2003, she was already a well known 'Henley Lass' through her work as the Administrator at the Youth Centre, Secretary for the Eyot Centre, member of church choirs and school governor work. Liz made an immediate impact on Henley Town Council work by taking on many duties and her special interests revolved around better facilities for young people and improving the look of the town, both of which have resulted in top awards for Henley over that past six years.

Liz has lived in Henley since 1959 when her parents, two brothers and two sisters moved to the town. She attended Trinity and Gillotts Schools and in 1972 married Richard at Trinity Church. Liz and Richard have brought up their four children who have now flown the family home, and this past year they became the very proud grandparents of two new members of the Hodgkin clan.

Joining HRG in 1999 was an important step for Liz as she wanted to make a difference to our town and represent a wider range of residents’ interests in local government. What are her hopes (and fears!) on being the 13th HRG Mayor?

"It is of course a great honour to be nominated for Mayor. When you look at those boards in the Town Hall that record all our Mayors for the past 800 years you realise the tradition and history associated with the job, and now my name will be added to the long list. I guess my most important job is to continue to try to boost our town by having an active programme involving all our residents and businesses. Especially in this difficult economic climate we all need to pull together to help Henley prosper. On a lighter note it will be great to have my own parking place in the Market Place for the year - pity I don’t get a car as well, but at least I will save on car parking tickets. However, I will obviously need some new outfits!!! So there is a silver lining. This will be a once in a life time opportunity for Richard and me and I am determined to do my best.”