Tenterfield Shire Council’s newly-appointed general manager Damien Connor comes to the role with a respect for what the town has already achieved but with a keen eye on creating opportunities to secure its future.
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He’s moving from the GM position at Uralla council, which is being courted by Armidale for amalgamation.
While the new appointment is a natural professional progression, Mr Connor said he’s keen on moving to a council which obviously takes pride in its community and has a good foundation to build on.
Originally from Inverell, Mr Connor said his father was a stockman so he grew up on rural properties and appreciates not being too far from extended family.
“I get to stay local, and this is a good place to raise a family,” he said.
Wife Melanie is a teacher with early intervention and special education experience, partic-ularly with autistic children.
Six-year-old Scarlett and four-year-old Finnan make up the young family. Mr Connor said he and his wife are avid sportspeople.
“I guess you could call me a sports tragic,” he said.
While he is a former professional rugby league player, he now counts Mrs Connor as the better sportsperson.
He’s into soccer and cricket, she’s keen on basketball and touch football, but they both like lots of action and appreciate the social aspect of sporting clubs.
While Mr Connor has many plans for his new role, he said initially he won’t be doing anything other than becoming familiar with the elected councillors’ aspirations, gauging what the community wants, getting to know staff and building strong relationships.
“It’s about building diversity in the local economy and getting the most out of people and resources,” he said.
“I’m familiar with the shire and its financial position, and the way it’s building towards sustainability. I see a strong ownership of the town by the local community, and travelling through the town I see it’s well looked after and people take a lot of care in what they do.
“There are lots of positives. The town is a credit to the efforts of a lot of people over a long period of time.”
Mr Connor said he’s been looking at council’s performance on metrics and there’s always room to get better. He’s looking forward to getting to work.
Mr Connor officially takes up his new post on May 23.
