Ben expands his leadership vision

LEONGATHA South’s Benjamin Vagg wants to build community networks for dairy farmers through his involvement in the Gippsland Community Leadership Program (GCLP).
He said the 10 month program presented an exciting opportunity to promote the dairy industry as well as Gippsland communities, which are just as important as each other.
Ben was recently granted one of three Gippsland Community Leadership Program scholarships from the Gardiner Dairy Foundation.
Ben works with his family on their Leongatha South dairy farm and said dairy farmers play an integral role in all of Gippsland’s communities and in some instances, form part of the core nucleus of those communities.
“I want to promote the importance of that to both the farmers themselves and the wider community,” he said.
Ben said for him, the program is about the community aspect and linking dairy leaders with community leaders at a regional level, not just at a local level.
He said there is a sense of pride in the Gippsland region and he wanted to see that continue into the future.
“No other region in Victoria identifies like Gippslanders do. They call themselves a Gippslander first and Victorian second,” he said.
“The whole experience so far has been challenging and it has already given me an opportunity to better understand other people’s perspectives and learn new skills.
“It is a big commitment and has brought together a diverse group of people with varied experience and backgrounds.”
Ben said the leadership program offered an opportunity to create new networks with like minded people, who have a deep passion about Gippsland and have put their hands up to get involved.
“For me it is about personal development and also getting to meet other people from different backgrounds and industries, because at the end of the day, we are all somehow Gippslanders,” he said.
Gardiner Dairy Foundation chief executive Mary Harney said the GCLP builds leadership capacity and empowers Victorian dairy communities.
“The opportunities scholars are provided through GCLP are invaluable and have extensive benefits both on and off the farm,” she said.
“We want to challenge dairy leaders and communities to adopt strategic ways of thinking. GCLP participants will be provided with the skills and confidence to achieve great success in their field.”

Young leader: Leongatha South dairy farmer Benjamin Vagg’s involvement in the Gippsland Community Leadership Program was boosted by a Gardiner Dairy Foundation scholarship.

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Posted by Sarah Vella on Jun 20 2017. Filed under Rural News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry