The winners of the Executive and Non Executive categories of the SACS Awards for Leadership in Local Government were announced on Wednesday, 28th July at a presentation dinner at The Australian Club. The winner of the Non Executive category was Kath Brackett, Coordinator Community Planning, Brimbank City Council and for the first time in the history of this award there were joint winners for the Executive category; David Crowe, Manager Parks & Gardens, City of Boroondara and Betsie Young, Human Resources Manager, Glen Eira City Council.
Kath Brackett was honored to be named the winner of the Non-Executive category.
The judge’s comments included that Kath’s leadership had been demonstrated through the engagement of internal and external stakeholders to implement a new model of community engagement in the context of a community with the second highest SEIFA rating in the metropolitan area. Through partnerships and planning, Kath had embedded the capacity for increased community citizen involvement in Brimbank.
The two finalists were:
- Ruth Hennell, Maternal & Child Health Nurse Coordinator, Glen Eira City Council for being instrumental in the implementation of a new state wide framework of the Key Ages and Stages project which was achieved with minimal disruption to service and received positively by families and MCH nurses.
- Heather Chapman, Community Development Officer, City of Yarra for her genuine compassion for the well being of staff and her impact on clients, to “encourage personal endeavour”.
Joint winner of the Executive category, David Crowe, thanked his team and current and past leaders who had inspired and developed his leadership skills.
The judges commented that David’s leadership was shown by his integrity and application of the values of “Working at Boroondara”. This was demonstrated through the idea of a “Green Machine” program; supporting the disadvantaged in the community by working closely with Mental Illness Victoria to employ a team of staff who would work alongside the parks and gardens teams.
Betsie Young was speechless as she accepted the joint award for the Executive category. The win was attributed to Betsie’s positive values and contribution to Glen Eira through her encouragement for staff to be involved in charitable causes through events such as Pink Ribbon Foundation and Jeans for Genes day and her achievement of a number of organisational outcomes due to her approach to HR.
The 2010 SACS Awards for Leadership in Local Government has once again provided an opportunity for the local government sector to recognise and celebrate the important contribution made by their peers. We look forward to sharing this celebration with you in 2011.
Click here to view our record of the 2010 SACS Awards for Leadership in Local Government.
Executive Category Joint Winner, David Crowe Manager Parks & Gardens, City of Boroondara
Executive Category Joint Winner, Betsie Young Human Resources Manager, Glen Eira City Council
Non-Executive Category Winner, Kath Brackett Coordinator Community Planning, Brimbank City Council
Non-Executive Category Finalist, Heather Chapman Community Development Officer, City of Yarra
Non-Executive Category Finalist, Ruth Hennell, Maternal & Child Health Nurse Coordinator, Glen Eira City Council
