Hello Everyone,
Well, our newspaper deadline day certainly got hectic this week with the announcement on Wednesday that Mayor Julie Hall will not be running in the upcoming Council elections.
It will be very sad to see her go as I think she’s done so much for the community, and it would have been exciting to see what she could have done with a full-term.
I do, however, completely understand that health and family come first – in fact, I believe they are the two most important things in life.
I will remember Mayor Julie Hall for her genuine affection, ability to show her vulnerable side and her commitment to being the voice of the people.
When she first started her term in August 2022, she invited me for a coffee and a chat.
We sat for about an hour at a little café in Proserpine and discussed how we could both work together.
One of her questions I will always remember – “how can we deliver more for you?”
And I think that is one of the overarching statements that typifies her tenure; she was always asking how Council could better serve the community, for that is really what Council are there to do.
Often, in this role I’d imagine it could be easy to fall into agenda or self-promotion, so it’s been fabulous to see that she continued the good work of Andrew Willcox in serving the community with integrity.
I hope the next Mayor, whomever he or she may be, serves with the same attitude and is able to really unite Councillors who can appear fractioned at times.
On the next page you will see that we’ve asked each Councillor whether they’ll be running for Mayor.
It’s certainly going to be an interesting few days while we wait to see who comes forward and if there are a couple of wild cards out there who might take us all by surprise!
Rach
Quote of the Week: “As we look into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others” (Bill Gates)
