Hello and welcome to my last President’s Message!
I’ll be stepping down from the IPWEA Victoria Board after our Annual General Meeting on 15 October which is a key part of our Leadership Forum. The Forum is a chance for members to e-meet the Board at 4:30pm followed by the AGM at 5:00pm. Registration is available here for this free member event and I hope you can join us.
On leadership, I’d like to acknowledge the following ‘graduates’ of our 2020 Engineering Leadership Program which concluded last week:
- Ben Clark | Town of Walkerville
- Christopher Chua | Banyule City Council
- Fei Thim Yong | City of Greater Geelong
- Gary Marshall | Consultant
- Jessica Rae | Yarra Ranges Council
- Jonathon Merrett | Whitehorse City Council
- Luke Boin | Tonkin Consulting
- Nicholas Murphy | Northern Grampians Shire Council
- Peter Reid | Warrnambool City Council
- Steve Smith | Adelaide Hills Council
- Thomas Hall | Warrnambool City Council
- Trevor Dando | Shoalhaven City Council
This year’s ELP was delivered entirely online in a series of recorded presentations and facilitated discussion forums. This format enabled maximum engagement and the involvement of participants from regional Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales for the first time. My thanks go to the Foundation for the Advancement of Municipal Engineering (SA), Local Government Victoria, the Essential Services Commission, mosaicLab, Darebin, Yarra Ranges, Monash, Greater Geelong, Banyule and Stonnington Councils, MECC Consulting and JPL Media for supporting this important professional development program.
In closing, I have held the honourable role of IPWEA Victoria President for the past three years and I thank all Board members for their great support and contribution. I believe the strategies we have developed and implemented over this time will ensure our Division remains sustainable and relevant for members and the sector.
I’m very proud of the work we do to connect, develop and represent members and I’d like to acknowledge Maurice Stabb who introduced me to the IPWEA and supported my appointment to the Board some ten years ago. Through his mentorship and encouragement I was able to gain great experience, knowledge and opportunities through IPWEA and for that I thank you.
I wish you and your families all the very best.
Matthew Hill | President, IPWEA Victoria