Penzance honours Citizen of the Year at Mayor Choosing Ceremony

It takes a certain kind of person to spend 18 years quietly raising money for charity and still feel there’s more to give. Penzance just honoured one of them.

At the 46th Annual Mayor Choosing Ceremony of Penzance Council, held at The Ritz on Monday 18th May, the town celebrated the people who give their time without asking for anything back. The evening also saw Cllr Andy Law unanimously elected as the new Mayor of Penzance.

📷2026 Humphry Davy Prize Winner Victoria Peters

A Newlyn man’s £97,670 mission

This year’s Brian Spiegelhalter Citizen of the Year is Steve Colenso, a proud Cornishman born and bred in Newlyn. Steve has been the force behind 18 years of charity auctions, raising a staggering £97,670 for local and national causes including Cornwall Air Ambulance, St Julia’s Hospice Hayle, West Cornwall Hospital Penzance and Cancer Research UK.

His next auction takes place on Saturday 3rd October for St Julia’s Hospice, where he’s hoping to finally hit the magical £100,000.

The award was announced by outgoing Mayor of Penzance, Cllr Stephen Reynolds, with winners presented an engraved pewter plate kindly provided by BJ Spiegelhalter & Son. The awards were started in 2004 by the family of the late Brian Spiegelhalter, a previous Mayor of Penzance, to celebrate local people and their contributions to the parish community.

📷Award Winners with Outgoing Mayor and Town Clerk

The teenager doing the work nobody sees

Year 10 student Rohan Monaghan-Jenkin was named Young Citizen of the Year. Rohan is a key member of the side that became County Champions earlier this year, but it’s the work he does away from the spotlight that set him apart.

He leads primary school music sessions at Mounts Bay Academy and helps coach younger rugby groups at his club every Friday. He gives them confidence and lets them try things they would never have thought possible.

📷Citizen of the Year 2026 Steve Colenso

A spirit of discovery

The annual Humphry Davy Prize, awarded to a student showing outstanding ability in the sciences and a “spirit of discovery” following in the footsteps of “Penzance’s most famous son,” went to Victoria Peters from Penwith College.

Victoria was recognised for her independent study on ecological succession at the Mexico Towans sand dune ecosystem along the north coast of Cornwall. Inspired by her reading and research, she plans to continue her environmental studies beyond college.

📷Mayor’s Sea Cadet 2026-27 Isabella Nowell

A new Sea Cadet and a fond farewell

The Mayor’s Sea Cadet for 2026/27 was announced as Sea Cadet Isabella Nowell, who received her official badge of office to wear at civic functions in the coming year.

The Council also said goodbye 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, winning a significant number of competitions during his 8 years in office. He was presented with a framed certificate and a pewter tankard engraved with the town’s Coat of Arms.

With Phil’s departure, the Council now has a vacancy for a new Town Crier and will hold auditions in due course.

Presenting the awards was the last formal act of outgoing Mayor Stephen Reynolds. He said:

“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.”

📷Retiring Town Crier Phil Northcott

📷Young Citizen of the Year 2026 Rohan Monaghan-Jenkin