Nicky Bauer – Central Highlands Regional Council

Nicky Bauer, Overseer Road Network, Central Highlands Regional Council

Propeller 2021 or was it 2020?? COVID 19 certainly kept us guessing, but we prevailed!!

My Journey

What an amazing journey. Propeller has taken us to the cane fields of the Burdekin, the cattle country of Charters Towers, the rainforest of far north Queensland (via Mareeba) to the vast lands and tranquil waters of Cook, the extremely dedicated Cherburg Region and finally to the beach side of Noosa.

My journey began with thoughts of “why was I nominated for this?”, “I really don’t have time to fit this in with work”, but that all soon disappeared directly after the first session way back in 2020. I met some wonderful people from all walks of life who are scattered all over Queensland. I was fortunate enough to have two neighbouring Councils represented by two wonderful ladies (you know who you are). This resulted in road trips of a lifetime!! We had some great brain storming sessions over the many kilometres we travelled. There were as lots of laughs, singing and even one ending up with a VERY sprained ankle from playing on a “children’s” playground)

The CC’c – Country to Coast team – not the alcoholic beverage 😊

5 of us were selected to become a team. That is 5 total strangers. 5 totally different personalities. Daunting… initially it was.

There were 5 and then that become 4 making us the smallest team. Our team delivered the only 2 full day itineraries for the duration of the program. Each of our team members were very diverse with different expertise and experience, blended this makes for very interesting conversations, delivery of workshops and idealisms of what the team should be delivering. The team makes the journey even more memorable.

What Propeller Meant to Me

I was totally inspired by at least one thing from each of the Council’s we visited. It was an experience that will never be forgotten and certainly one I will talk the ear off anyone who is willing to listen. The propeller program has helped me grow and develop in area’s I thought I never could. The professional and personal development that this program delivers is very rewarding.

Propeller gave me the opportunity to meet 15 Queensland Council employees from all different walks of life and career paths. It has been a pleasure to watch each one of them strive to reach their absolute best, overcome their fears and conquer their goals.

Living out of a suitcase is real! The stories of good and bad accommodation options were always an interesting talking point during our travels and over dinner. Tiring and busy comes to mind when I think of the program, but it’s all very rewarding.

That’s A Wrap

LGMA delivers a very professional program and I couldn’t imagine having done it without the support of our program facilitator.

Throughout the program I took a lot of photos which will provide a lot of wonderful memories for me. I have decided not to include them in my memoire as this was a part of my personal journey.

It had to end eventually. I will certainly recommend this program to my co-workers and counterparts from other Local Government areas.