Chairwoman vows to help improve Hawick

Gillian Morgan was made chairwoman at the first meeting of the new-look council, held in the town’s high school on Monday, February 11.

The 53-year-old coffee shop manager, one of seven new faces on the council following a by-election in January, beat long-standing member Cameron Knox to the chair by six votes to five, and she says she can’t wait to get started in her new position.

“This is an exciting new role for me,” Mrs Morgan said.

“I joined the council to make a difference. I have lived in Hawick my whole life.

“It is a fantastic place, and within this position on the community council I want to help make it even better.”

Mrs Morgan, boss of the new Costa Coffee cafe in High Street, believes the council will benefit from the mix of new faces and experienced members.

“We are all there for the right reasons,” she said.

“I think myself and the other new members will bring a fresh approach and will complement the existing members, who have valuable experience that can be shared with us.

“Hawick is a fantastic place, and I’m looking forward to working together to make it even better.

“It’s all about teamwork, pulling together, complete transparency and communication, not just between us but with the wider community as well. It’s about getting out there and speaking to people.

“Hawick is a very unique town in many ways, and I hope that, working with Hawick Community Council, along with other local organisations, I can only help to improve Hawick’s potential for the future.”

Mrs Morgan, also a member of the Hawick Common Riding committee, has lived in the town all her life, and although she is still getting to grips with the workings of the community council, she has vowed to get up to speed as quickly as possible.

“I’ve tried to do as much homework as I can, but there is still a lot to learn,” she said.

“My priority to start with is to get into the nuts and bolts of everything, understand what has been happening and how to move things forward.”

Mrs Morgan was elected to the role left vacant following the resignation of Ian Turnbull after a three-year-long tenure last year.