THREE decades of developing local leaders were celebrated on Wednesday, October 28 2026, as the 30th cohort of the Fairley Leadership Program graduated in Shepparton.
More than 120 local leaders, alumni and supporters gathered to recognise the 22 graduates of the 2026 program and mark 30 years of leadership, connection and community contribution across the Goulburn Murray region.
The new Fairley Fellows join a network of 788 alumni spanning business, agriculture, government, health, education, community and not-for-profit organisations.
Goulburn Murray Community Leadership (GMCL) executive officer Jesse Mitchell said the milestone was about more than the program’s longevity.
“Thirty years is an extraordinary milestone. But the real story of Fairley isn’t measured in years alone,” she said.
“It lives in the friendships formed, the doors opened, the conversations that changed someone’s thinking and the people who found the courage to step forward.”
Keynote speakers Michelle Taylor, Harley Haber and Dhami Singh shared their own leadership journeys, while 2025 program participants Alex Wright and Sarah Griffiths MC’d the event.
The graduation also brought GMCL’s 30th anniversary celebrations to a close following an anniversary gala in April.
However, the milestone comes at a pivotal time for the organisation, with GMCL announcing the Fairley Leadership Program will pause in 2027 while it seeks the investment and capacity required for its sustainable future.
GMCL board chair Lacey Nicholson said sufficient external investment had not yet been secured to responsibly deliver next year’s program.
“This is a pause in program delivery, not a withdrawal from our commitment to regional leadership,” she said.
“Our responsibility is not simply to deliver a program each year. It is to protect the organisation, the program’s legacy and its capacity to create meaningful regional impact into the future.”
GMCL will spend 2027 seeking investment, building partnerships and reviewing its organisational capacity, with no date yet confirmed for the program’s return.
For its newest graduates, the challenge is now to carry Fairley’s legacy forward.
“As you step forward, help others do the same,” Ms Mitchell told them. “Nurture new leaders, clear the path forward for those who follow and make room for them at the table.”
