David Ward - Photo supplied.The President’s Award for Distinguished Contribution to SOLGM has been awarded to David Ward, Chief Executive of Selwyn Council and former Chief Executive of Horowhenua District Council.  

This Award is for a SOLGM member who has made a significant contribution to SOLGM. 

David is a long-term and significant supporter of SOLGM. He has been a member since 2003 and has been heavily involved in two SOLGM Working Parties spanning more than 15 years. 

David joined the Finance Working Party in 2004 and became Chair in 2009, a position he retained until 2017. During this time the Finance Working Party oversaw the development of significant guidance to the sector on the move from IFRIS to PCPB accounting. In 2018 he was appointed Chair of the Democracy and Governance Support Working Party.   

David is also a strong supporter and mentor to the young leaders that report to him. He has supported them to attend the Executive Leaders Programme and several have gone on become chief executives. At Selwyn David established a Young Leaders Group, which is co-chaired by two (different) young leaders each year. Under his direction they establish a speaker programme for their monthly meetings which includes both internal and external speakers. They have a framework of learning from others and learning from themselves.  

SOLGM’s annual Gala Dinner event was cancelled due to COVID-19, and so award recipients were announced online this year. 

© https://www.solgm.org.nz/ 9 May 2020