A look into the busy day of Horsham Rural City Council Mayor Robyn Gulline

Her first term was a whirlwind of major projects, new laws and, of course, a global pandemic.

Cr Gulline said to her council is about connection as both governance and the community.

"Council is the interface with the community, like it's the closest tier of government to the community," she said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"Council has a really important place in, in making the community the best place it can be.

"Me personally - it's my way of giving back."

Cr Gulline said she looked back at her journey with the Girl Guides and their promise to the community.

"I went to the Queen's Guide Award recently and and they were talking about the guide, promise and law. And I sat there and I thought, wow, I have a 50 years since I made my guide promise," she said.

"You don't realise that it just so becomes part of, of who you are, you know, this, this service to the community.

"I've got skills, I've got abilities, and I'm happy to share them, I give them freely."

Cr Gulline still manages to shape her days as a mayor, businesswoman and community member.

She lives out on Longerenong on her farm, where she has lived for the last 26 years since she moved to Horsham in 1995.

Cr Gulline is the managing director and has three staff members.

The alarm goes off at 6.30am, but Cr Gulline isn't a morning person, despite being on the farm for 26 years.

"I'm a night owl," she declared.

"You are quite likely to have me still awake at one or two o'clock in the morning."

While every day is different, Cr Gulline likes to be at council chambers around 9am. She has lambs who are being bottle fed at the moment, so that slows her down before leaving.

One thing that also happens daily is coffee at 10am.

Cr Gullines office is a short walk to the main street in Horsham central activity district, so she likes to go to a different cafe every day.

"Most people know my face by now," she said.

People will often stop Cr Gulline to ask questions, which she said is just part of her role as the public face of the council.

"I'm probably getting better at answering them now, because my knowledge in 12 months has increased," she said.

Cr Gulline's day can be responding to emails, zoom calls and more, but she said her favourite part is meeting people.

"I love being out and about meeting people," she said.

"I have the honour of doing the citizenship ceremonies. They're just an absolute treat to do, to welcome new people to join us as citizens.

"I have the privilege of being invited to lots of organisations, events and things, which is just terrific. So I get the opportunity to meet so many different people."

Cr Gulline said she liked to hear others stories and just get to know people, but there is no typical day.

"But there is no normal day as a mayor," she said.

"I'll be at the office until until I'm not and then I'll go home and and do harvest to feed the lambs and do whatever else needs to be done."

Cr Gulline said her best advice for working in council is to be analytical and see the whole picture.

"I try to look at problems a little bit like a cube," she said.

"And I try to pick that cube up and tip it round and look at it from all angles and, and try and really understand what it actually means. Because if you just look at one face of the cube, your response might be completely wrong. Where if you take the time to try and fully understand and analyse that problem."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

Did you know you can receive updates straight to your inbox? To make sure you're up-to-date with news from across the region, sign up here.