Page 6 - Real Rochdale Issue 05 Summer 2019

John Kay – Man of Rochdale
Current ‘Man of Rochdale’, John Kay, was
born and bred in the borough, and has lived in
Littleborough all his life.
His father, Frederick William Kay, was a senior
partner at Molesworths solicitors with John as
his articled clerk – yesterday’s version of
an apprentice.
One year into his training at the then
Littleborough business, John took over the
running of Molesworths at just 18 years old,
when his father died.
Between 1985 and 2006, he continued his
father’s legacy as a senior partner at thecurrent
Molesworths Bright Clegg in Rochdale town
centre before stepping aside to become a
commercial consultant; still providing local
businesses and individuals with legal support.
John has raised thousands of pounds for various
causes over the years and had an incredible input
to a variety of organisations and groups within
the borough. Believing in Rotary’s motto of
‘Service Above Self’, John says the Rotary Club of
Rochdale was his starting point with charity work
30 years ago.
In 2012, John was presented with Rotary’s
highest award, the ‘Paul Harris Fellowship’, at a
surprise ceremony, for his outstanding service to
the club and community.
Recently, John has been running a pop-up art
exhibition with local artist Geoff Butterworth in
the Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre, where
Geoff gives 20% of his earnings to Rotary’s
chosen charities.
A prominent member of the Littleborough
community, John is the treasurer of
Littleborough Civic Trust and is involved with
Littleborough Canalside Development Group,
Littleborough Coach House Trust and
Littleborough Events and Association Forum
REAL ROCHDALE - Summer 2019
(LEAF), to promote local places and ‘always has
the best interests of the village at heart’.
John has served on the Mayor’s Charity
Committee for over ten years and has been
asked to chair the committee this year for a
second time by the new Mayor of Rochdale,
Councillor Billy Sheerin.
He is also an active fund-raising member for
the Rochdale branch of the NSPCC, organising
events such as the Ladies Ascot Day at Nutters
Restaurant, and was chairman of the NSPCC
Rochdale & Oldham Business Group.
John was one of the founders of Rochdale
Connections Trust (RCT) 20 years ago, which he,
along with magistrates, started when they found
there were young people in Rochdale who didn’t
have a school to attend as they had dropped off
the registers.
RCT trained volunteers to mentor young,
disaffected individuals and matched them with
youngsters; magistrates played their part by
ordering many young people in court to attend
the trust.
John said: “I had a particular wish that we should
help the families, as opposed to just helping the
children who get into trouble. I was involved with
the local NSPCC through my wife, Elisabeth, and
I put forward a motion at the national conference
of the NSPCC that they should spend more
time helping families and not just individuals. It
received a great amount of support and now the
NSPCC is helping families, along with RCT.”
John was named as the 25th Man of Rochdale at
Rochdale Town Hall. On receiving the accolade,
John said: “It is so rewarding to know that people
voted for me. I hope I can live up to what people
expect of me. I am delighted to be able to put
back into Rochdale what Rochdale gives to me. I
like to put back into society what I have got out
of it. I am so glad and appreciative that this year
was my time.”
Photo: Katie Davies
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