By DANI ROTHWELL
KAY Morland became president of the Inner Wheel Australia over the weekend.
She has been a member of Inner Wheel for 21 years and has held many roles throughout her time, including president of the Inner Wheel Club of Berwick, president of the A62 district and vice-president of Inner Wheel Australia.
She has spent the last 12 months as vice-president of Inner Wheel Australia and is looking forward to this next chapter.
“It’s an honour to be entrusted with the presidency,” she said.
“It’s also a responsibility to make a difference and change how we’re perceived.”
Kay is acutely aware that a lot of members of Inner Wheel are there due to their husbands’ involvement in Rotary, but that the criteria for membership now allows like-minded women to join should they be invited.
However, she is happy that two young generation clubs are in Australia, particularly the Casinia club for Casey and Cardinia.
Of the 103,000 members worldwide, Australia has 3500 members, with about 250 attending the changeover dinner on Saturday 20 June at Pullman Mercure in Queens Rd, Albert Park.
Kay was inducted as the new Inner Wheel Australia president by Carole Buchanan, a past international Inner Wheel President.
On the Friday night before the changeover dinner, the friendship dinner was held to host the Inner Wheel women and give them the ability to catch up for the first time since October.
Inner Wheel attracts like-minded women who are passionate about their communities.
“Women come along for friendship and don’t realise that they have potential,” Kay said.
“Eventually you’ll find out that they’ve grown and that they’ve been president of their club.
“We promote people realising their own potential because if they do that, then they’re more capable to go out and make a difference in the community.”
Inner Wheel Australia has to date raised over $2 million for research into cord blood and the ability of stem cells to treat disease.
Some of this research takes place at the Monash Institute for Medical Research in Clayton, which is doing the most amazing things according to Kay.
The diversity of the projects that Inner Wheel is involved in and the friendship that it brings are the highlights for Kay.
“It’s really important and has given me opportunities to grow and develop that I never believed would’ve been possible,” Kay said.
“Unfortunately we don’t promote the work that we do enough.”
Over the coming year, Kay will be travelling around visiting each of Australia’s districts.
“It will be difficult to keep all of the balls in the air, particularly while Mick is Mayor of the City of Casey, but it will be done,” she said.
Some of the key areas that Kay is looking to improve are redeveloping the website and making the organisation more appealing to younger women.
