Serving the community for 35 years

Rotary Club of Mount Gambier Lakes front & centre of Mount Gambier events

It was a milestone that looked like slipping by unacknowledged but Rotary Club of Mount Gambier Lakes president Sherril McKay was adamant 35 years of serving the community deserved to be celebrated and that is exactly what the club did last month.

“We were proud to celebrate 35 years of serving the community – locally, nationally and internationally,” Sherril said. Part of the president’s motivation to mark the 35 year anniversary of the club’s formation in 1988, was the fact there were 10 new members that hadn’t been part of the 30th celebrations.

“I think any group or organisation that last a long time should celebrate its longevity and successes,” she said.

The Rotary Club of Mount Gambier Lakes was the third Rotary club established in Mount Gambier, following in the footsteps of the Rotary Club of Mount Gambier in 1928 and Rotary Club of Mount Gambier West in 1969. And like all community groups, the Rotary Club of Mount Gambier Lakes is always on the lookout for new members.

“Often there is a stereotype that Rotary is for older male business leaders,” Sherril said. “This has not been the case for some time. While we do have some long term members, we also have members in their 30s and 40s.”

The club currently boasts a membership of 33, with 10 having joined in the past five years, countering the stepping back of some members. Who, due to health reasons, have become Friends of Rotary so as to still maintain a close association with the club.

“Our members are men and women from a wide range of backgrounds who all want to make a difference in the world,” Sherril said. “Special mention needs to be made to three current charter members – Trevor Prettejohn, Alex Shanks and Mark Teakle – for their contribution to our club and Rotary over so many years.”

Three other charter members – John Allen, Gerald Boucher and Max Medhurst – are honorary members of the club. And it is a club that has been a key part of the fabric of the Mount Gambier community over the past 35 years and you would be hard pressed to find someone in the city that had not been touched in some way by the work the club has undertaken.

The Rotary Club of Mount Gambier Lakes supports Foodbank, local athletes, and runs the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. The club is also the driving force behind the Blue Lake Fun Run, runs the annual light and tyre checks in Mount Gambier, coordinates the Annual Science and Engineering Challenge and has been the long time caterer of the Australia Day breakfast.

“Locally our club has been known for numerous activities across the last 35 years including the Library Markets in the summer months and managing the gates at the speedway and other community activities,” Sherril said. “Supporting the environment has become a recent Rotary focus and our club I currently looking at opportunities to partner with other groups and organisations to support this focus.”

The Rotary Says No to Domestic Violence is also a focus for the club with a launch of sorts taking place on May 22 with the Community Awareness Dinner headlined by domestic violence survivor Simone O’Brien. Tickets can be purchased at Humanitix with further information available by contacting Lakes Rotary at [email protected]

The Rotary Club of Mount Gambier Lakes also maintains its bigger picture focus through the Rotary network, with support provided to Australian bushfire and flood relief and the current war in Ukraine, as well as worldwide projects including End Polio Now, Rotarians Against Malaria and Australian Rotary Health, which is one of the largest independent funders of mental health research in Australia.

People interested in joining Rotary Club of Mount Gambier Lakes to make a difference in the local community, and nationally and internationally, are always welcome and can assist by becoming members or volunteering as Friends of Rotary.

For more information email [email protected]