News
Gore District Council plugs gap with Hei Taituarā service
When Gore District Council’s Chief Executive Stephen Parry was looking to fill a temporary gap his team, he got in touch with Hei Taituarā, an executive support service for the local government sector offered by Taituarā.
Stephen worked with Dean Kimpton, who runs the Hei Taituarā service, to determine the sorts of skills and qualities needed. After establishing a brief, Dean introduced Stephen to Rod Sheridan who has previous experience working as General Manager, Community Facilities at Auckland Council. Now based in Gisborne, Rod is now collaborating with Gore District Council staff both on-site and remotely.
A key aspect to Rod’s work is mentoring and coaching members of the Gore District Council team. He has worked alongside a range of council managers responsible for Gore’s multisport complex, the library, parks and reserves, as well as arts and heritage. With a rich array of professional experiences under his belt, Rod is well-placed to contribute his expertise as well as help develop Gore District Council staff as they move along in their own professional journeys.
An example of this support is the guidance is that Rod has given to Gore’s Arts and Heritage Curator Jim Geddes. Gore has a range of active cultural institutions including the Eastern Southland Gallery, the Gore Historic Society and the Hokonui Moonshine Museum. Rod has worked alongside Jim, helping write memoranda of understanding with a number of community trusts. This has entailed clarifying the respective roles of these participating organisations as well as the Council itself.
It has been an exciting year of growth for Gore’s cultural scene. The Minister for Tourism Stuart Nash cut the ribbon of Gore’s new distillery in November. This is part of a major upgrade of the Hokonui Moonshine Museum and Gore’s heritage precinct, partly made possible by a $1.6million grant from the Provincial Growth Fund. This has been a win-win for both Stephen, who has found it hard to find time to hammer out all the nitty-gritty with all members of his team, as well as for Gore District Council which is offering increasingly dynamic cultural programmes and facilities for its community.
In addition to interim executive placement, Hei Taituarā offers services in mentoring, rapid response, and sector reform.
For more information about Hei Taituarā please email Karen Thomas, Chief Executive of Taituarā, or ring her on 022 609 1544.
17 December 2021