By Russell Bennett
The Rotary Club of Emerald and District’s annual calendar is full of events that give back to the local community, and recognise those who make the hills community what it is.
Its ‘Pride of Workmanship’ Awards, held at the Paradise Valley Hotel in Clematis, are a way of paying special tribute to, and recognising those from a wide cross-section of the community for their contributions to businesses and organisations throughout the region.
La Trobe MP Jason Wood, alongside Cardinia Shire Ranges Ward councillors Leticia Wilmot and Brett Owen, attended the presentation evening alongside a host of other guests. They helped to present a range of awards across the education, volunteering, community, and business sectors.
Emerald and District Rotary Club president Ian Ash spoke of his pride in the event. He spoke about how special the night is, given it involves not only the Rotary Club, but also the Emerald Business Group – which he also chairs.
“It’s a great opportunity for local businesses to network, talk to one another, and get to know each other even better,” he said.
A Rotarian for about a decade, his first board position was as the vocational chair, so he knows better than most the work that goes into the Pride of Workmanship Awards.
He praised fellow Emerald Rotarian Sangeeta Bajaj and her vocational service team for doing “an absolutely outstanding job” in organising the event.
Mr Ash spoke about the five avenues of service within Rotary – Club service, vocational service, community service, international service, and youth service.
The Pride of Workmanship Awards are a crucial part of the vocational service space.
“The Pride of Workmanship awards are in integral part of what we do, and it’s really rewarding for us to be able to recognise the local businesses and the fantastic work that goes on within them,” Mr Ash explained.
“The archetypal view of Rotary conjures up images of grey-haired men like myself selling sausages outside Bunnings and offering raffle tickets.
“But almost half our members in the club are women, and it’s great to see so many women represented here (at the awards). We’re united by a common desire to give back to the local community – that’s where Rotary started, and that’s still what we stand for.”
Mr Ash also spoke about the range of events and activities Emerald and District Rotary has run, or been directly involved with, over the past year – including the Great Community Raffle (which raised over $177,000 in its most recent running – taking the tally raised to date to about $1.4 million, which in turn goes back to local communities); the Kids Fun Run with Thomas (which raised $46,000 last time around for the Monash Children’s Hospital cancer centre); the All American Car Display and Man Cave Alley; and the Debutante Ball.
Ms Bajaj spoke about the Pride of Workmanship Awards, adding that it is an approved Rotary project instigated in 1975 by the Rotary Club of Pennant Hills.
From its humble beginnings, a theme was born: ‘Do it once, do it well, build a better Australia’.
Ms Bajaj said the awards enabled organisations within the community to help employees achieve a high level of job satisfaction and publicly recognise them for their efforts.
She spoke about the three core values that underpin the Pride of Workmanship: taking pride in your work; your job values; and taking ownership.
There was around 120 attendees at this year’s Pride of Workmanship Awards, and the vast majority of the 15 award winners were from the business sector – including Mr Ash, himself, for his tireless work with OrgMent Business Solutions.
Of the awards presented, Len O’Donnell nominated Gayle Barrot from Barry Plant; Russell Marnock nominated Paul Davy from Emcar Automotive; Louisa Lammers from Emerald Village Pharmacy nominated Karen Charters; Marcus Adams from Falcone & Adams nominated Janet Poulton and Raelene Gault; Sandra Brindley and Clair Cullina from Fun ‘N Fitness with Gerta nominated Gerta James; Melissa Watson from Melissa Jane Hairdressing nominated Sarah Foot; Mandy Palmer nominated Ian Ash from OrgMent Business Solutions; John Koenders nominated Narelle Rennie from Studio Reflections Photography; Sangeeta Bajaj nominated Annelyce McGuire and Lisa Plain from That’s Right Bookkeeping; Alison Radford from Zest Cafe nominated Quan Vo, Toni Wilson, and Ashleigh Griggs; and Emma Clark nominated Lorraine MacKenzie from Emerald Primary School in the education category.
