In 2007, Michael Stretton from Central Coast Council won the Aspiring Young Manager category of the Local Government Managers Australia (Tasmania) management excellence awards.
This award is to any person under the age of 35 who holds, or aspires to, a management role in Local Government or who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in their area of work.
“In winning the award I was presented with a certificate and received a prize of $1,000 to assist with undertaking a professional development activity,” Michael Stretton said. “I participated in the award initially because I was nominated by my General Manager and Director, but subsequently because I saw it as an excellent opportunity for my ongoing professional development.
“I accepted the nomination with thanks and prepared a submission to address the awards selection criteria.”
The selection criteria for the award included: leadership, professional development, interpersonal skills, continuous improvement and innovation and contribution to the community.
“At the time of my nomination I had just completed a Master of Business Administration (Human Resource Management) to add to a Master of Applied Science (Environmental Health),” Michael said. “Additionally, I was in my first six months as a manager of Council’s Environment and Health Group.
“The award presented an excellent opportunity to reflect on ‘where I was at’ in my career and to clearly identify and plan my future career path.
“Since receiving the award I have received the benefit of recognition for my achievements from my employer, the Central Coast Council, and the Local Government sector in general.”
This year, Michael has been promoted to the position of Director Development Services at Central Coast Council, and has used the prize money to commence a Doctorate of Business Administration.
“In my Doctorate I will be investigating the skills shortage problems which are currently impacting upon Local Government throughout Australia,” he said.
