Kim Ritter from the City of Salisbury recently won the 2012 Emerging Leader of the year award.  We chat with her about her role at Salisbury, and the award...

Firstly, some background…

What’s your current role, how long have you been doing it?
My current role is Manager Salisbury Recreation Precinct, I’ve been in this role for just over 1 year now. Prior to this I was the Manager of the Gardens and St Jays Recreation Centres and have been with the City of Salisbury for 5 years now. Currently I’ve got approximately 40 staff members.


Now, about the Emerging Leader of the year award…


How did your entry come about?
My entry came about through my direct line Manager, Adrian George – Manager Recreation Services.

How did you feel when first nominated, and when your video was played?
I felt very honoured that I was nominated in the first place, realizing the nomination process was quite a lengthy one and very in depth! When the video played at the awards night I was nervous, excited, embarrassed and humbled all at once. Viewing all of the other award nominees I felt they were very worthy of the win compared to myself.

Were you nervous when the nominations were read out?
I was very nervous when the award was being announced – but didn’t think that I would win this award!

Did you prepare a speech? 
I didn’t actually prepare an acceptance speech! That was how much I thought I wouldn’t win this award. I remember when I was walking up to the podium and it dawned on me that I was about to give a thank you speech and I thought – “oh no, I don’t have a speech prepared!”. I gave myself 2-3 seconds to prepare and then went straight into an off-the-cuff speech! I thought my speech was OK, would’ve been better had I prepared although I tend to ad lib a lot with speeches I prepare usually, so don’t think it would’ve changed a whole lot had I prepared one earlier.

I do wish I’d thanked the people I currently work with in my team, for allowing my crazy ideas to come to fruition and for their on-going encouragement and support!

They make my job so much easier and such a happy place to be!

We have a fantastic high-performing team at the Salisbury Recreation Precinct, filling our days with laughter as well as productive work!
 
How did you feel about winning?  What do you think that does for your motivation, your standing in the industry, your future career?

I feel very honoured to have taken out this award. It was certainly very unexpected as I feel I just do my job, nothing special about it. It’s really nice to be recognized at such a high level amongst my peers and other local government representatives. It cements my motivation in driving forward, continuing to identify gaps in program service delivery and to build a great working relationship with my fellow team mates whilst building their skill sets for their own improvement.

As far as my future career goes, this award is a great achievement and will assist me in developing my skills and qualifications further! Who knows what the future holds for me, but I’m excited to find out!
 
How have your colleagues/staff reacted to the win?
My staff and colleagues have reacted very positively towards my win. They’ve all been so supportive of me, not only after this win, but for the past 5 years I’ve been lucky enough to be employed by the City of Salisbury.

Staff in other departments have also been very congratulatory towards me and have made comments such as ‘well deserved’, which makes me feel very special and lucky to be thought of so highly by other people.
 
What would you say to other potential nominees for next year?
To other potential nominees for future years: strive for your goals, develop yourself personally, understand your customers and colleagues, follow your dreams, try to see the positive side in everything and above all, establish how to make work and life ‘work’ for you.
 
What’s next for you in your plan?
What’s next for me??? Ummmm…..personally to finish the house my husband and I are building ourselves.

Professionally – to continue to strive for excellence in everything my team does, continuously improve and to continue to move up the professional ladder – whatever that opportunity may be!