Cllr Paul Mackin MBE moved to Shefford in July 1969 to work as a Maintenance Electrician in Stevenage. He joined the Bedfordshire Fire Service as a Retained Fireman in September 1969 and, after twenty years of being Station Officer in Shefford, he retired from the Fire Service in December 2002. Paul joined the Council in May 1989, held the position of Deputy Major from 1998 to 2000, and was elected as the Mayor of Shefford from 2000 to 2021. He continued working full time as a Maintenance Engineer, then Foreman, then Works Engineer. He retired from full time work as a Security and Plant Protection Manager in 2008.
Over the twenty years of his mayorship, he instigated the purchase of the Council Offices (Shefford House), the purchase of the right to hold a weekly Charter Market, the creation and growth of the Youth Programme, and, in more recent years, lead the delivery of the Market Town Regeneration Fund project, the High Street Improvement programme, the Shefford Emergency Response Team and the COVID-19 Emergency Support Line.
In 2010, he was invited to join the Trustees of the Airfield Volunteer Fire Service at Old Warden Airfield, Shuttleworth and, in 2018, was elected Chairman of Trustees when the Service was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary service. His other voluntary posts include Governor of Shefford Lower School, member of the Tarmac Broom Quarry Trust, and member of several committees of the Bedfordshire Town and Parish Council Association. He was awarded an MBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours List for service to the Fire Service, the Town Council and the community over a period of more than fifty years.
Although he stepped down from the role of mayor due to domestic circumstances, Paul continues to work behind the scenes at the Town Council as Head of Special Projects. In the last year, he has arranged and co-ordinated of the Queen’s Jubilee Civic Celebration on June 2nd, secured the funding of and project-managed the installation of CCTV at the Youth Hub, and the rededication service of the Shefford war memorial. Plus the Town Clerk and Admin Assistant certainly keep him busy!
