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Council employee a National Emerging Leader finalist

Published on 01 December 2021

Gannawarra Shire Council Aquatics Officer, Kieran Schneider’s dedication to his work has been recognised, with the Council employee recognised as a finalist in the 2021 Local Government Professionals Australia Emerging Leader Award.

The award, presented yesterday as part of the 2021 Local Government Professionals Australia National Federation Awards, recognises the outstanding achievements of emerging local government staff.

“Council congratulations Kieran for being recognised at a national level, with this accolade following on from receiving the 2021 LGPro Young Achiever of the Year award earlier this year,” Council Chief Executive Officer, Tom O’Reilly said.

“Since starting with Council in late 2019, Kieran has built local partnerships with swimming clubs and groups and developed risk management processes to ensure Council’s compliance with industry guidelines.

“Furthermore, Kieran’s response to recommend a management change of the service during the onset of a global pandemic has shown strong leadership and direction for management and Council to make key strategic decisions.”

The nomination recognises Kieran’s work in the following area:

Overseeing the return of aquatic staff management to Council’s control, resulting in the employment of 35 residents for the 2020/21 season;
Implementing activation activities for Council’s pools including Fresh Fruit Fridays, Rhyme Time at the pools, pool parties and healthy eating options at pool kiosks;
Development of a new swim school for Council’s indoor exercise pool, with the program’s initial launch in April 2020 impacted by COVID-19;
Review and implementation of risk management processes for the aquatic facilities
Providing operational advice in the development of Council’s municipal Aquatic Strategy; and
Demonstrating leadership in coordinating the service response to COVID-19 and coordination of COVIDsafe planning.

“With staff from 537 local governments from across Australia eligible for this award, I am honoured to be recognised as a finalist,” Mr Schneider said.

“Thank you to Gannawarra Shire Council’s CEO, Directors and Managers for genuinely appreciating the work I have done to lead change and improve our aquatics service delivery.”