WENDOUREE\u2019S Ronald Pickford said his life of service to Rotary and the Australian building and design sector has come from a need to get the job done.<\/p>\n
He has become and Member of the Order of Australia for his contributions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has come to me as an award and I have no idea who did it and how it came about, but it made me question why did I do those things?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI only do it because it needs to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Pickford began donation his time with Rotary Ballarat in 1985 and has since travelled around the world with the aim of changing people\u2019s lives for the better.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been involved, and I served as secretary, then as treasure, then a lot of work for youth exchange programs and I was then nominated by Rotary International to be district governor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Pickford was then invited to become a cadre technical expert, working in places like India, the Philippines, Vanuatu, Thailand and Kenya.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne moment I hold dearly is when I travelled to India to take part in the immunising of children against the virulent, evil polio virus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really such an experience knowing that if you give two drops of the vaccine to a child, it was going to save them ever getting a debilitating virus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Pickford\u2019s time is not limited to humanitarian work, he is also the director of Pickford and Associates and has made significant contributions to the building and design industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne aspect of it that I\u2019m very proud of is what was known then as the Building Designers Association of Victoria,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a charter member of that and the first elected president and that has now grown into a national organisation which is highly respected within the building design sector of Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the significant objectives of that organisation was to protect the consumer so that if they engaged designing consultant, they knew that that person was registered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Pickford also worked with what was then known as the University of Ballarat to develop its architectural design faculty.<\/p>\n
In a few weeks\u2019 time Mr Pickford is set to head to India for more work with Rotary and he said he has no intention of stopping.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will continue doing what I\u2019ve done in the past,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WENDOUREE\u2019S Ronald Pickford said his life of service to Rotary and the Australian building and design sector has come from a need to get the job done. He has become and Member of the Order of Australia for his contributions. \u201cThis has come to me as an award and I have no idea who did […]<\/p>\n