A former Mayor of Ross, Mike Jennings, died last week. He was unanimously elected Mayor by his fellow Councillors in 1998, and he served on the Town Council for over 10 years, retiring from public service at the last election. Born in Surrey, Mr Jennings came to Ross in the 1950s. He worked as managing director for an agricultural company before going to Nigeria with the Commonwealth Office. He worked in Malawi and then went to the Sudan where he worked on a multi-million pound resettlement programme. Mr Jennings enjoyed a challenging mayoral year in 1998/1999, as the town prepared for the Millennium, and he was proud to represent Ross on his visit to twin town, Betzdorf. He felt that Herefordshire town councils should accrue more responsibility for local issues, he was often frustrated by the limited expenditure they were allowed. He had worked in the background for the Ross branch of the Conservative party for many years. He was supportive of the young, campaigning for two new playgrounds at Mayhill and Roman Way, and he described the Ross Phoenix Majorettes as: "one of the best organisations in the town". He represented the Town Council on the Larruperz Enterprise Committee and HALC. Mike Jennings is survived by his wife, Maureen, his three daughters, Melanie, Sarah and Shelley, step- children Mandy and Dean, grandchildren, Tasha, Amy and Paige and great-grandchild, Charlie.