The Lord Mayor of Bristol’s Charity
Meet our dedicated committee members
The Lord Mayor
Cllr Andrew Varney
I am absolutely honoured and delighted to be representing our beautiful city of Bristol as Lord Mayor for 2024 to 2025. Coming from a humble background, it is certainly a position I never expected to have.
I was born and raised in Weston-super-Mare in 1968. My father was originally from Bristol and my mother was from Bath, so I have a great affinity towards the West Country and have always enjoyed visiting its historic towns and cities and walking and cycling in the beautiful countryside.
In 1986 I left home to study for a degree in Geography at Plymouth Polytechnic and later a PGCE at Oxford University. Like many young people, I wanted to travel and see the world and so spent several years teaching overseas in Hong Kong and Japan.
I met my partner, Robbie, in 1998 and we spent ten years in Dublin before moving together to Bristol in 2008, settling first in Knowle and then Brislington.
My professional career has largely been spent either working overseas or in international communities in Britain, until recently, I was teaching at an international school in Clifton, and I have always found such working environments to be so rewarding and enjoyable.
It is also why I love living in Bristol so much. Bristol is a truly international city with citizens from over 287 ethnic groups from over 185 different countries of birth. Bristol welcomes over 600,000 international visitors each year and international students from over 150 countries choose to study here. This is a source of great pride, and it is why my theme for the year is to celebrate Bristol’s international connections.
Heads Of Committee
Joy Simmonds
Joy has been on the committee for about 8 years. She loves helping others and she has a heart for the community of Bristol. Being one of 6 children herself, she understands what it is like to not have much at Christmas and feels that being a part of the charity is humbling as you can make a real difference.
Joy is a Business manager, helping local businesses, at Barclays bank and has worked there for 43 years. In addition to being the chair of the LMCA she also volunteers with helping the homeless.
In her spare time she loves gardening and looking after her grandson.
Leigh Mitchell
Leigh has been on the committee for nearly 10 years and became a trustee in 2022. She is a member of The Rotary Club of Bristol. She joined the committee following a talk by the previous Chair about the continuing work of the LMCA supporting the children of Bristol at Christmas.
Helping fellow committee member Marion Reid write the Centenary booklet was eye opening – realising that despite all the progress there is still a need for the support of the LMCA, the support may no longer be given as “a pair of boots & a hot meal” but our vouchers are still vital to bring cheer at Christmas to many children in our city. Over the last few years she has been involved in organising the annual Christmas Concert- a great fun way to start the giving season.
Tim Stringer
Tim has been on the committee for 2 years and wanted to join the committee to give something back to Bristol! He has been a Committee member on Forum for the Built Environment (Faculty of Building) Great Western Branch, a member of the Bristol Learning City Partnership Board, a Committee Member of The Chartered Institute of Building (Brunel Centre), a judge for Woman In Property South West Student Awards and a finalist in the Institute of Directors South West Director of the Year.
In the voluntary sector Tim is a member of Thornbury 41 Club and Secretary of Stoke Gifford Royal British Legion and has been Chairman of both Thornbury Round Table and Round Table North Wessex covering Gloucestershire, Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire and North Somerset. Tim also represented the West Country on the National Committee of Round Table Britain & Ireland.
Marion Reid
Marion joined the Committee in 2015 and is an active member of the Soroptimist International (SI) Bristol Club. She is motivated by helping people who are less fortunate than herself and appreciates the fact that all the money raised by the committee is used to support children in need. In her working life Marion was an expert in blood groups as a medical technologist and after obtaining a PhD, as a scientist.
Chris Rowe
Chris has been on the committee since 2013 and is an active member of Bristol Round Table and is also current Area Round Table Chairman. Chris has coordinated a lot of support to LMCA via his links with Round Table including the Santa Sleigh for LMCA which is a popular festive sight on the streets of Bristol during December!
Chris is a qualified management accountant and in his spare time enjoys playing and watching sport, golf and walking with family and friends.
Catherine Rowe
Recently joined the committee in November 2022, and the reason for joining was that Catherine was aware of the amazing work the charity does and wanted to give some time to a worthy cause.
James Kingston
James joined the committee in 2024 and is one of our newest members. James is the Managing Director and founder of Kingston Barnes.
Coming from humble beginnings, James understands the importance of support for young people and is eager to work with the committee to make a real difference in the lives of Bristol’s children. Through Kingston Barnes, he has raised over £50,000 for local charities, driven by his commitment to giving back to the Bristol community.
In his spare time, James enjoys family time with his wife and two sons, Oliver and William. He is also a gym enthusiast, callisthenics practitioner, OCR competitor, and a lifelong Bristol City supporter.
Andrea Vassallo
Andrea joined the committee in 2024, having been inspired by a previous Lord Mayor’s promise to “recognise the unrecognised”. Bringing experience working, volunteering and fundraising for military charities such as Supporting Wounded Veterans, Andrea does everything she can to help turn people’s lives around. She is motivated to make a real difference for children of families in need across Bristol.