The Waitaki District Council chief executive is stepping down after four years at the helm.
"It’s still not real for me," Mr Power said earlier this week.
He thought it would start to feel real yesterday, he said.
After spending three years in charge of the Wairoa District Council, Mr Power had been looking for a change and was attracted to Waitaki as it was "soaked" in heritage.
The district had a richness of intertwining stories, leading him to pick up the work started 20 years ago by Vanished World to establish the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark.
The geopark, he believed, was a concept based upon those intertwining stories, and landowners taking pride in their land, wanting to protect and preserve it.
Despite the public push-back, he was proud of the district’s application to attain Unesco global geopark status.
It was a project the entire district would benefit from, but it was now up to the community to decide how successful its future was, he said.
Mr Power placed a focus on heritage from the start, elevating the position of heritage, planning and regulatory group manager to the executive team on his arrival.
That led to a raft of internal promotions — "I’ve literally lost count of the number" — and had helped establish a sense of career progression at the council.
Oamaru Airport becoming home to the New Zealand Airline Academy, and possibly Dawn Aerospace rocket launches, was also a highlight, he said.
The academy winning an AirAsia India contract was a "real success story", as was the company’s growth to have 11 aircraft in Oamaru.
Covid-19 was challenging for the academy, but the pandemic would pass, and he believed the academy had a bright future.
Mr Power was responsible for luring Rocket Lab to Wairoa during his tenure, and he believed Dawn Aerospace had similar potential.
"If [Dawn Aerospace’s] audaciousness pays off, they’re going to ... show the rest of the world how it’s done."
The Waitaki District Council punched well above its weight, and he was proud of the development of the communications team, and the introduction of an internship programme for international students.
"It was a really positive programme and it would be wonderful to see that re-energised once Covid-19 is put to be bed."
He cited the pandemic as his biggest challenge, and a once-in-a-lifetime struggle for the council.
However, 95% of staff were able to remain working during lockdown, many redeployed to other roles, and the council come out the other side well.
Abuse towards council staff had reached unacceptable levels, forcing him to introduce the use of body cameras and remote panic alarms for officers.
While the council had faced some criticism for the move, Mr Power made no apologies.
"The most important thing is that people actually return home safely at the end of the day.
"There’s never an excuse for abuse. Everybody should feel safe in their place of work."
As he prepared to pack his bags and set up a new life with wife Tri in Thailand, he looked back over his time with a sense of pride.
