The Town Mayor is elected in May each year by The Town Councillors at a Mayor Making ceremony. They will represent The Town Council at any Civic functions or events both in Petersfield and outside of Petersfield and will preside over Full Council meetings held each month (with the exception of August). They will also promote Petersfield as much as they can.
The badge and chain is worn by The Town Mayor and has a picture of The Hampshire Rose on it.
The Town Mayor will choose a specific charity for the duration that they are Town Mayor and will run fund raising events for this charity. After a year all the money that is raised will be given to the chosen charity.
The 2023/24 chosen charities are:
The Kings Arms Youth Project
The King’s Arms, affectionately know as ‘KA’ to the young people, is a charity that has been set up to meet the needs of the young people of Petersfield and Alton. Running a range of different clubs for different age groups and have loads of cool things for them to do such as arts and crafts, cooking or just having space to chill!
1927 (Petersfield) Squadron ATC
The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a cadet organisation based in the UK. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets.
For over a century, the festival has been a hub for the many musical organisations in Petersfield and the surrounding area with choirs, orchestras, chamber groups and wind bands, including those from the local schools all taking part in the Festival Hall built for the purpose in 1935. Petersfield Musical Festival is a registered charity and run by a committee of trustees who all volunteer their time.
Dementia Friendly Petersfield aims to increase the awareness and understanding of dementia across the town, so those affected feel more supported by the business and services they rely on.
Town Mayor 2024-25
JC Crissey, Town Mayor (2024-25)
JC is married with two daughters and together they have lived in Petersfield for over forty years. Since 2002 he has been CEO of London Pictures Limited and before that he was a marketing director for IBM for 14 years. He has a BA in marketing, an MBA in marketing and finance, a PhD from Royal Holloway and is a Fellow with the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He is also a Life Member of the British Academy of Film and Television, enjoys walks with his family in the South Downs, all sport (lifelong Pompey supporter), the performing arts, visiting Chawton House and time with family.
Outside bodies: East Hampshire Association of Parish & Town Councils, Petersfield Strategy Group, Petersfield Twinning Association.
Lesley Farrow, Deputy Town Mayor (2024-25)
Lesley studied Law at Newcastle Polytechnic followed by articles. Moving to Petersfield in 1977, Lesley has two children who attended Bedales. Lesley was a committee member of Save the Children for 34 years, and became a Councillor in 2011.
Having served on Petersfield Town Council for 8 years, three of which were as Mayor, she is now a member of Finance & General Purposes, Grounds and Planning Committees. Subsequently being chairman of Grounds for 4 years and one of the main facilitators of bringing the Grounds work in-house.
Lesley’s interests include race judging for Cowes Week and general history. Lesley is also on the Staff Panel and Petersfield in Bloom.
Outside bodies: Petersfield Twinning Association, New Savoy Cinema and Petersfield in Bloom.
Deputy Mayor 2024-25
