Emerging Young Leaders Mentoring Program acknowledgement day

Mentee Cara Munnings receives her acknowledgement certificate from DCO Gavin Thompson

 

Thank you on behalf of the Emerging Young Leaders Mentoring Program. We can't wait to tell you all about our experiences.

 

Reflecting on the previous six months, the Emerging Young Leaders Mentoring Program participants shared vastly different leadership stories and experiences with highs and lows in their brigades and personal lives.

But one thing they had in common after the experience was the relationships they built along the way and their determination to lead well and let this program be the start of their leadership journey.

A mix of CFA and Life Saving Victoria mentees and mentors gathered at The Views in Port Melbourne last Saturday, 30 August, to acknowledge the completion of the 2025 Emerging Young Leaders Mentoring Program. They were joined by Chief Officer Jason Heffernan, Deputy Chief Officer Gavin Thompson, Life Saving Victoria’s Sam Dwyer and the General Manager of People and Culture Torbjorn Servin, plus some special guests.

Earlier in the day, the group toured the State Control Centre and saw the Intelligence and Public Information teams in action. It was also a great opportunity to discuss leadership in incident management teams with the incident controller on duty and other leading staff members.

During the evening, several participants shared their personal acknowledgements. Using an interview-style presentation, Don Cook and Sam Galvin explored what the future of CFA could be like for young people.

Mentor Don said, “The future is in this room, and if we don’t teach ourselves how to communicate and understand what the important things are to young people, we’re in trouble," Mentor Don Cook said.

"I think the measure of success will be when the emerging young leaders in this room become mentors themselves.”

Mentee Sam Galvin agreed.

“I get to stand on your shoulders now and be the next generation and I’m so grateful for that. I get to go back to my brigade feeling less isolated because of this community we get to rely on and call upon, confident that this is the start of a leadership journey that will continue to grow,” Sam said.

Presenting her initial goals and current progress, Mentee Cara Munnings showed how she measured success throughout the program.

“I can confidently say I have gained so much. The biggest lessons for me are understanding my own strengths and limitations. Knowing these have made me a more effective leader. It’s also helped me accept it’s OK not to know everything and it’s important to use the knowledge of those around us,” she said.

Mentee Adele Hunter discussed her future development plan.

“I now see a future in CFA that I didn’t know was there before. This program is important because people like me gain a lot from the camaraderie and support this program provides. It inspires people to find their voice and give them the tools to help lead CFA into the future. I have the confidence to call out the behaviour that would have prevented me from succeeding previously, ensuring that we are all welcome and that we are all heard,” she said.

Chief Officer Jason Heffernan left the emerging young leaders with a special message.

“I want to encourage each and every one of you to continue. Continue your leadership journey, it doesn’t stop today, it starts today. Like any other skill, if you don’t practise your leadership, if you don’t put it into action, it’s a skill that you do lose. Go forth. Be leaders. Do good things. Be good people. And your organisations will be so much richer for it,” Jason said.

This and many other key mentoring and leadership development programs are supported by the Volunteer Leadership Development Program that builds and enhances volunteer leadership capability through the delivery of a suite of inter-connected leadership development opportunities.

For more information, CFA members can visit Members Onlime. 

 

Submitted by	Alex Reid