Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor, Cr Kim O'Keeffe has been re-elected as Chair of Regional Cities Victoria (RCV) for 2022.
The election ceremony was held at the Shepparton Art Museum on Thursday 16 December 2021, with Cr O'Keeffe re-elected to the position of Chair. She previously served in this role for the first time this year, having served as Deputy Chair in 2019. Latrobe City Council Mayor, Cr Kellie O'Callaghan was elected as Deputy Chair for 2022.
RCV is a leadership group comprising of the Mayors and CEOs of the 10 largest cities outside Melbourne, including Shepparton, Bendigo and Mildura, with these cities collectively home to more than 600,000 Victorians. Cr O'Keeffe said she was extremely pleased to be re-elected as the Chair for another term, giving her the ability to further advocate for necessary investment in regional Victoria.
"I look forward to another term as Chair and leading RCV towards obtaining further support for the fantastic regional cities we have across Victoria," she said.
"Regional cities have faced another year of hardship during the COVID-19 lockdowns, however we have all shown immense resilience and strength during this difficult period. We all look forward to welcoming visitors from across the country during the festive season."
This was the first time the RCV election had been hosted in Shepparton, with the event held at the newly opened Shepparton Art Museum. Cr O'Keeffe said it was fantastic to host RCV in our region, saying she looked forward to many more opportunities in the future.
"We were grateful to host RCV at the newly opened Shepparton Art Museum and give everyone a tour of the incredible facility. The building is a major drawcard for Greater Shepparton and regional Victoria, and it was fantastic to share this with our neighbouring regional cities," she said.
"It is so important that we continue to advocate to improve the infrastructure, services and amenities in regional areas to continue to attract people to work, live and visit in these parts of the state."
