A former St Arnaud Secondary College student reached the final five of the 2017 Local Government Pro Awards for Excellence in the Young Achiever category.
Northern Grampians Shire Council infrastructure manager Trenton Fithall was nominated by council for his commitment to improving communication, production and instilling trust within his team.
Mr Fithall said it was an honour to be nominated and it confirmed what he was trying to do in his role.
“It is great that what I am trying to do is coming into fruition, it is really good to be recognised, especially from your peers,” he said.
“Being nominated is one thing, but actually getting into the final five is another.”
Mr Fithall was born and raised at St Arnaud and joined council as a trainee in 2009, while he studied engineering at La Trobe University.
He was appointed infrastructure manager in February last year and manages 72 members of staff in works, parks, gardens, and engineering.
Mr Fithall said growing up at St Arnaud was an advantage and helped his knowledge in the role and the way he could relate to customers.
“It definitely helps, I certainly get quite a lot of people who ask me questions in my job because they know I am a local and I can understand most of the times where they are coming from,” he said.
Council’s infrastructure and environment director Sanjay Manivasagasivam said Mr Fithall set an excellent example for his peers and assisted others to manage change effectively.
“The fact that Trenton was among the top five in the Young Achiever category is a reflection of his excellent leadership skills, his determination to build a better working environment and improve community engagement, and his commitment to his own professional development,” he said.
“Trenton has been integral in the implementation of our activity based working environment, which proved challenging for many employees.
“He has provided support and encouragement right from the start and has found ways to make the process far less confronting that it could otherwise have been.”
Mr Fithall was also recognised in the Local Government Pro Awards in 2016 when he and his team were awarded the LGPro Award for Excellence in the Service Delivery Initiative category for their shared engineering services project.
It recognised the skills of engineers employed by Northern Grampians Shire Council, provided to two other councils on an as-needed basis, for a fraction of the cost of consultants.
Mr Fithall and his infrastructure team members were also finalists at the latest Victorian Engineering Excellence Awards.
