Cheryl Gaedtke to stand as Councillor for Somerset Regional Council once again

I was elected to Somerset Regional Council as Councillor in 2016 and I have enjoyed the past four years immensely. I have enjoyed meeting new residents, assisting and supporting community groups, attending various functions, attending one on one meetings with local residents to share their problems or ideas, taking phone calls, addressing business needs and just being accessible when needed in my role as Councillor. As our council area is undivided, all Councillors are responsible for the entire region, which I really appreciate. I am not limited to just one particular area; I can represent any constituent on any matter throughout the region. The region is represented by six Councillors and our Mayor.

For those of you who have recently moved into our beautiful region, I welcome you and hope that you enjoy our lifestyle that is shared in the Somerset area. It is a large region in size with a somewhat smaller population, which offers its own challenges for council. We are fortunate to have two major dams in our region that offer water sports, boating, fishing, swimming and just a lovely spot to set up camp, or share a BBQ, or a place to take the kids to enjoy a picnic and the playground equipment. We are also the home of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail, which has become an extremely popular destination within our region. There are forest tracks that can be enjoyed by four-wheel drives, off-road motor bikes, horses or hikers. We have many towns or villages within our region that have unique stories and special characteristics. Our five major towns are Kilcoy, Toogoolawah, Esk, Lowood and Fernvale.

I especially enjoy spending time with our volunteers and I acknowledge that we are no different to many other areas, we suffer from reduced numbers of volunteers. Our communities run on volunteers, and we are always grateful for any assistance offered by our community members. I would encourage anyone who has spare time at all, to give some consideration to volunteering regardless of the number of hours you may have to share. I can guarantee, that you will be pleasantly surprised by the benefits achieved by volunteering to whatever group that ticks your box.

Our major businesses continue to grow and are respected employers of our region. Our agriculture sector is also a very important employer and regional economic driver. Presently council is supporting ventures that will attract employment and visitation to our region. It is exciting times for our region, and I am glad that you and I are part of it. I look forward to meeting you when the opportunity arises. Please jump on my website to learn more about who I am – https://www.cherylgaedtke.com and go to about Cheryl.