Congratulations again to Deputy Commissioner Gary McCahon, Correctional Supervisor John Rossett and former Community Corrections District Manager Selina Shea after being presented with their King's Birthday honours by the Queensland Governor, Dr Jeanette Young AC PSM.
After being named in the King's Birthday 2024 Honours list in June, the recipients attended investiture ceremonies this month at Government House in Brisbane and the Court House Gallery in Cairns.
Deputy Commissioner Gary McCahon received the Public Service Medal (PSM) for his 40 years of outstanding service to corrections in Queensland and New South Wales, while John and Selina were awarded the Australian Corrections Medal (ACM) for distinguished service by an operational member of adult corrective services.
Deputy Commissioner Gary McCahon PSM Selina Shea ACM
QCS Commissioner Paul Stewart APM congratulated the officers for their service and dedication to the top tier public safety agency.
"On behalf of QCS, I want to congratulate DC McCahon, John and Selina for their outstanding commitment in creating stronger and safer communities," Commissioner Stewart said.
"Their dedication to improving lives and keeping our community safe speaks volumes and I am incredibly proud of the impact they've made through their work and in our community.
"Corrections is challenging work but our officers, through their unwavering commitment, work tirelessly every day to improve the lives of those in their care and under our supervision to keep Queensland communities safe."
John Rossett ACM with Queensland Governor, Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM
QCS Deputy Commissioner Gary McCahon began his journey with QCS commencing as a Prison Officer at the Townsville Prison in 1984. Demonstrating exceptional leadership capabilities, he swiftly rose through the ranks, taking on various roles including State Coordinator Dog Squad where he introduced competency-based training/assessments including implementing Specialist Narcotic Dogs within the North Queensland Region. He held various senior executive roles of General Manager/Governor Correctional Centre positions throughout Queensland and New South Wales including General Manager of NSW State Operations Group, Director Custodial Operations Northwest and Southwest Regions and Director of Corrective Services Brush Farm Academy. During 40 years of service as well as leading strategic reform projects in Corrections he transitioned two privately run prisons to public operations and implemented the Officer Safety (Use of Force) review recommendations, positioning the jurisdiction as the best trained and equipped in Australia and on par with global standards.
Lotus Glen Correctional Centre Custodial Correctional Supervisor John Rosset commenced his career with Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) in 2004 as a Custodial Correctional Officer, devoting the past 19 years to providing exceptional service delivery and leadership to the officers and prisoners of Lotus Glen Correctional Centre. During this time, he has also fulfilled the role of trade instructor, which saw him provide skills and training to positively contribute to the prisoners he supervised. Mr Rosset advanced in his career in 2018 by undertaking the role of Acting Correctional Supervisor, followed by his permanent appointment to the role in 2019.
Former Logan City Community Corrections District Manager Selina Shea commenced employment with Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) in 2007 as a Probation and Parole Reporting Officer, in the Brisbane South Community Corrections office and had more than 16 years of distinguished service with QCS in predominantly frontline leadership positions. In the District Manager role, she was responsible for the management and oversight of over 1200 offenders subject to supervision in the community. Throughout her career, Ms Shea consistently demonstrated her unwavering commitment to community safety and made significant contributions to QCS, including developing meaningful partnerships to establish and build critical intervention initiatives such as pharmaceutical rehabilitation services.
