A Hume council worker has clocked 50 years on the job, and was acknowledged with a celebration at a council meeting on August 28.
Roads team member Howard Mitchell started at Hume in 1973, and this milestone is a chance to reflect on his five decade contribution to the community.
Starting out in the rates department, Howard then moved into customer service in 1994 when shire amalgamations took place, before becoming a building asset inspector and finally a team leader of works delivery.
As a depot worker for the last 15 years, Howard oversees a team that inspects local roads and footpaths, many of which didn’t even exist back in the 70’s.
“I like getting things done and sometimes there’s hurdles…I’m a doer,” Howard said. “I like getting things finished, seeing the end result, seeing the before, seeing the after.
“Whether it’s regarding line marking or getting the road patches repaired, footpaths getting repaired….signs… the community, they always have good feedback when they visually see what’s changed for the better.”
While helping the community drives Howard, he admits the secret to staying at a job for so long is the culture.
“I’ve always had bosses that took an interest, not only workwise but socially and vice versa.
“If I had a really bad boss, I don’t think I’d last, I probably wouldn’t have made the 50. But I’ve been lucky. Really good bosses and really good work colleagues.”
Outside of his work Howard keeps active and makes regular contributions to men’s health initiatives.
He said he is also looking forward to doing one of his most important jobs as a dad when his daughter gets married next year.
