Can do two things at once

By Kate Taylor

Moorabool Shire Council’s Michelle Richards has won the 2017 Australian Local Government Women’s Association’s Bursary Award.
She’s been at council for five years, working as the Fire Recovery Co-ordinator, while also undertaking a Masters in Business Administration.
The annual award is given to a woman working in local government and undertaking tertiary studies.
“I received the nomination from Council and put together a submission in which I was required to talk about current issues facing Council. I detailed the struggles we face in attracting and retaining volunteers in a commuter settlement with an ageing population and the challenges in building community resilience to function at high levels, including their capacity to respond to a disaster,” Michelle explained.
“I also spoke about how fortunate I have been to have had strong female mentors throughout my career to encourage me to perform at by best both professionally and personally.”
The Bursary is $1750, and Michelle is set to complete her MBA by the end of this year.
“I feel incredibly honoured and grateful to have received the award and attended a high tea at the Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday for the presentation- which was pretty fancy!”