THE Rotary Club of Ballarat East now has a new president with David Stokes taking on the role.<\/p>\n
His one-year term began at the start of July as part of the community organisation\u2019s annual changeover, taking the reins from immediate past president Caroline Dougherty.<\/p>\n
A member of the club for four years, Mr Stokes said he\u2019s \u201cboth flattered and excited\u201d to step up to the task.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a fairly important role with both organisational and representational qualities. You\u2019re trying to show that Ballarat East is a great servant of the community all the time,” he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an intense challenge, to be sure. But this creates an incredible service for the community and one I\u2019m happy to help steer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the contact with all the different people involved in Rotary. Because of what we do, you find yourself rubbing shoulders with people you might never have met otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Stokes has lived in Alfredton for 15 years, and joined the club as a way to get involved in community activities.<\/p>\n
He said his semi-retirement was a driving factor in his joining the group, having worked as a neuropsychologist for over 30 years at Melbourne\u2019s Cabrini Hospital.<\/p>\n
The Rotary Club of Ballarat East has about 30 members, and Mr Stokes already knows where his priorities will lie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited to focus on membership, which is a bit of an issue that we have to deal with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of our members are ageing, and it\u2019s always difficult to bring more young people in.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I see it as a challenge for us to do some adjustments and modification that will make the group more attractive to them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Rotary Club of Ballarat East now has a new president with David Stokes taking on the role. His one-year term began at the start of July as part of the community organisation\u2019s annual changeover, taking the reins from immediate past president Caroline Dougherty. A member of the club for four years, Mr Stokes said […]<\/p>\n