Kells cllr elected to chair of Meath VEC

Kells Town Councillor, Tommy Grimes, was unaminously elected chairman of Meath VEC at a recent meeting. The Labour party councillor is the first elected Labour member to hold the position. He said he was honoured to hold the post, as the VEC had a staff of 700, a budget of €40 million, 4,500 full-time students and thousands involved in adult education. "It is going to be a difficult year but I believe members and officials will be able to work together and I hope to carry on the work of the former chairman, John Fanning, who ran the meetings with great ability," he said, Cllr Grimes said he was looking forward to working with the CEO, Peter Kierans. As a team, he said, the VEC would overcome any obstacles. "We hope to achieve the maximum with team effort," he said. Cllr Grimes said it was great to be appointed to the position unopposed and he looked forward to the challenge. Cllr Grimes has been a member of Kells Town Council since 1974 and this is his third term on Meath VEC. At a meeting of Kells Town Council on Monday night, he was congratulated on his election to the post. The cathaoirleach, Cllr Brian Curran, said Cllr Grimes was the first person from the town to hold the position. Cllr Bryan Reilly said it had been great to see political differences put aside so that a Kells person was elected and he was delighted to have been associated with that.