Kristelle Cockshell, Kateland Fraser and Matt Kinnaird are all local young people who are moving into middle management roles. These well educated, well known characters within the community are figures of authority at the Roxby Leisure Centre, at very young ages and are grabbing the opportunities they have been offered.
Kateland Fraser, 20, local resident of Roxby Downs for 18 years, is the Director of Sports and Recreation at the Leisure Centre.
She organises sporting events such as training and games for every single sport in the common person's vocabulary, the Kids Club, works as Duty Manager for some shifts, plus she fills in the gaps when needed.
You could be fooled into thinking that this is a simple job, but arbitrary events such as bookings throughout the Rec Centre, sports seasons starting and finishing, crèche and reports keep Kateland on her toes.
Not bad for a girl who started working as a lifeguard in the school holidays.
Kateland attended Westminster School in Adelaide for her last four years of schooling, and was accepted into Flinders University to study Registered Nursing.
"My parents sent me down to boarding school to better my education and provide me with more opportunities", Kateland said.
She did this for a year, until she realised that Nursing was not the career for her.
"I didn't think that I would be in the position I'm in here at Roxby. After a year of nursing I did some summer work and got offered a full time position. This prompted me to come to the realisation that I wasn't interested in the study I was doing".
Kateland has now worked in her senior position at the Leisure Centre for over a year, and couldn't think of a better place to work.
"I don't believe there are any cons to working here. There are good and bad points in any job. A pro to the job would definitely be the central location of the centre."
She enjoys the fact that she helps organise community events and gets to know what's going on around the community. This year she plans to stay focused on her job and keep things going smoothly, but more importantly, get more people involved in sport.
Kristelle Cockshell is a vivacious and friendly part of the Dunes Café's front of house team.
A long serving resident of Roxby, at 20 years, one would think that three years and a long term partner down south would be enough to lure her away for good; however, the Roxby pull had Kristelle back living here after graduating.
Kristelle thrived at Immanuel College, which she attended for the final three years of secondary school. Kristelle chose to go to boarding school because her sister, Katica, was already down there and because the curriculum more suited her interest in art.
Kristelle started work as a casual employee at the Dunes Café, and has improved upon her knowledge of the hospitality industry and working in a team atmosphere.
Her work ethic and familiarity of the comings and goings within the Leisure Centre has seen her gain a permanent, full time position at the Dunes Café, with frequent duty managing shifts, during which, she is responsible for all employees working at the entire Centre, as well as the safety and satisfaction of the patrons.
As a duty manager she is more involved in the organisation and successful running of functions and events and enjoys weekly events such as Nippy Gym, Mother's Morning and Mine Tours, which keep her weeks very busy.
"I enjoy working at The Dunes because it's so versatile you get to meet all sorts of people. I get to see a lot of the kids growing up around the community," she said.
For the next year Kristelle would like to study in a field that will further her in her job and keep her work ethic up and help the Dunes attract more customers and try to offer more to the Nippy Gym and the Mother's Morning.
Matt Kinnaird moved to Roxby five years ago and the town has had a lasting impression on this young man.
Matt started working in the kiosk and as a lifeguard at the pool during school holidays. Once he finished school at Prince Alfred College, he was accepted into uni but decided to defer his studies and work and travel throughout Canada for seven months. It was while he was overseas that he was offered a full time position as the Director of Aquatics at the Leisure Centre. With funds rapidly dwindling, no doubt due to "creating memories", this offer was more than appealing!
Although Matt has only been working back at the Leisure Centre for a few weeks now, he thoroughly enjoys what he does and has big changes planned for 2010.
"(This year) I'll try to get my head around everything again, I will stay focused and be involved in the changes to come".
He aspires to get the Youth Centre back up and running, help with the development of the sports program and the sporting facilities.
His favourite parts about being an employee at the Leisure Centre is that he is now more involved in the community and that he can access certain "employee only" privileges such as free pool and gym memberships and plenty of interaction with local children.
Aquatics Manager has in the past been a typically hectic job, with young vandals littering the pool with broken bottles or rubbish. This is not such a regular occurrence now, but regardless, a lot of jobs do pop up from nowhere and there is a lot of maintenance involved in the smooth running of such a large pool.
A drawback of Matt's job is that on days like Australia Day, it is without question that he will be working.
