Kylie Hawkins has a megawatt smile and her enthusiasm is infectious. As I sit down with Mrs Hawkins in her office at Glen Industries I immediately understand how she views her work through the prism of teamwork.
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We want people to value the services and the products that we provide for the community and we aren’t going to keep ourselves tucked away at the end of Grey Street we know we are a valuable part of this community
- Kylie Hawkins
When her accomplishments are brought up they are met with a modest smile and a resignation that whilst it is necessary that she be the front person for Glen Industries she does not want to be its sole focus.
Kylie Hawkins went to Newcastle University and gained a Bachelor of Business majoring in Human Resources. From there Mrs Hawkins went to Sydney to work at a consulting agency and from there got involved in private business enterprises in Coffs Harbour.
After her husband Mark got a position in Inverell the decision was made to move into the region. After the birth of her first child the desire to return to the workforce saw Mrs Hawkins take on a management role within a company that saw her looking after the Hunter New England region. After some personal reflection Mrs Hawkins decided to take on the role she now has with Glen Industries in 2010.
“Glen Industries mission is to support and promote choice and opportunity for people with a disability to lead their life, to feel confident and empowered within themselves and their community and to aspire to their hopes and dreams,” she said.
“In 2010 the organisation was in a dire financial position and there were a lot of issues that needed to be worked on.
“But we all pulled together as a team and we have managed to get it to a position of prosperity and strength and Glen Industries now has a gleaming future.
“It’s a pretty monumental turnaround in a relatively short period of time and keeping low key over those initial years worked because as a team we had our work cut out for us trying to get things on track.”
Once Mrs Hawkins was satisfied that Glen Industries was progressing in a positive way she decided to become more actively involved within the community.
Mrs Hawkins is on the board of Business in Glen Innes, the Tourism Organisation and is involved with the steering committee for Arts North West.
“I knew that I needed to be more out in the community as Glen Industries has made a more strategic shift in our direction,” she said.
“Glen Industries has been in Glen Innes since 1967 so it is part of the local landscape and we have had our work cut out for us shaking the tag of a sheltered workshop.
“We want people to value the services and the products that we provide for the community and we aren’t going to keep ourselves tucked away at the end of Grey Street we know we are a valuable part of this community.”
As changes are made within the disability sector Mrs Hawkins and her team have decided to push Glen Industries forward and says there is an exciting project on the horizon.
“We are going to take on a more social enterprise model and whilst we have in the past been on the receiving end of charity from the community we now want to gift some back,” she said.
“We want to step up and to take some business initiatives that will build networks and solid foundations moving forward and we have identified things we need to focus on to build that.
“The Glen Initiative Garden (the GIG) will strengthen our ties to the community. We have a 3000 square metre block of land that has infrastructure already in place and we want to bring a community based initiative to Glen Innes.”
The GIG will coordinate different groups within Glen Innes such as the work for the dole program, Aboriginal youth, school groups, local volunteers and Glen Industries employees to provide fresh produce for those most in need within the community.
“We want this to be a people led project that is open to all those within the community, we will provide the infrastructure and the resources but it will be up to the community as to where this project goes,” she said.
Kylie Hawkins is someone that would benefit from a few more hours in the day it seems. As our conversation ends her face lights up again as she tells me of her family, husband Mark and her sons, nine year old Cooper, and four year old Baxter.
“I feel like I don’t want to be the mum that buys her kids fast food dinners, so I do go home and cook for my boys and the role of mum and wife is very important to me,” she said
As I walk out of her office I wonder how Mrs Hawkins fits everything into her day and I am reminded of the phrase that if you want something done, give it to a busy person as they know how to manage their time effectively. Kylie Hawkins is a busy person.
