Hume City Council understands how important road management and safety is to locals.
And no-one understands it more than one of our roads team members Howard Mitchell, who this year clocks up five decades working with Hume City Council.
The service milestone of 50 years as a Hume staff member is truly one to be celebrated, not only because it’s a rare feat for any person but it’s also a chance to reflect on the incredible contribution Howard has made to the community.
When he started at Hume in 1973, Pascoe Vale Road was one lane in either direction – which is a fitting and telling acknowledgement of Howard’s service over 50 years.
Starting out in the rates department, Howard moved into Customer Service upon the 1994 amalgamation into Hume City Council before becoming a Building Asset Inspector and finally landing in his current role as a Team Leader of Works Delivery.
As a depot worker for the last 15 years now based at Maffra Street, Howard oversees a team that inspects local roads and footpaths – many of which didn’t even exist back in the 70’s – and it’s a role that’s a perfect fit for the experience and pride he has for his work.
“I like getting things done and sometimes there’s hurdles…I’m a doer,” Howard explains.
“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 see visually see what’s changed for the better.”
While helping the community keeps Howard driven, he admits the secret to staying at a company for so long is the culture.
“The main thing (about staying with Hume Council is) I’ve always had good bosses.
“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 monumental service to Hume Council, there’s no slowing Howard down.
On top of staying active with gym, golf, surfing and time with family, Howard also makes regular contributions to other men’s health initiatives through the Movember campaign – for which he’s raised upwards of $15,000 in recent years – as well as fighting for gorilla habitat protection and donating goods to children in neighbouring countries.
And he’s looking forward to doing one of his most important jobs as a dad when he watches his daughter get married next year.
Howard was acknowledged for his incredible service milestone at a celebration with colleagues in mid-August and at a Council meeting on 28 August.
