By Dongyun Kwon
It’s sad to say goodbye to the 2023-24 board members of the Rotary Club of Healesville, but it’s happy to welcome the new board members to continue the legacy that the previous board left.
The 2024-25 board was unveiled at a celebratory changeover dinner on 20 June at the Sanctuary House Restaurant and Healesville Jewellers owner Sally Piper has become the new president of the organisation.
The tenure for the new board members is from July 2024 to June 2025.
Ms Piper said the new role is a “challenge” for her.
“It is seriously a challenge because nothing’s predictable but I’ve got a very committed and passionate team,” she said.
“You’re never on your own in Rotary because it’s like a family. You’re not isolated.
“We’re in a very privileged position because everyone is committed to doing something in this little group to give back to our community.”
The theme for the new board is Beautiful Town.
The new president said Healesville Rotary Club’s projects would focus on showing Healesville to the community and to the visitors.
“Everyone who lives here, not just the Rotary Club, loves the fact that we live in this beautiful town,” Ms Piper said.
“We’d be looking at the programs that can show to the community and to the visitors who come here how much we love this town and how much we appreciate where we live.
“We’re producing a business guide for our visitors based on the map. We want them to really enjoy what we have every day.”
Over the years, Ms Piper has done multiple positions including vice president, youth director and international service director.
“Many many years ago, I can’t even remember, there was like a showcase of various community groups that Healesville had going in including Lions Club, Rotary Club and the business groups held in the Memorial Hall,” Ms Piper said.
“It was one of the members there at the Rotary table who was chatting about what the Rotary Club is about and that’s how I started getting involved in this organisation.”
Ms Piper is encouraging more community members to get involved in the Rotary Club to grab opportunities that the club is offering.
“I’ve made some wonderful friends and been able to travel to Africa and Thailand to work on projects,” she said.
“You can get to learn so much from extraordinary teachers in the group because they are skilled.
“It’s such a worldwide network, you’ll have access to extraordinary information and because we’ve got technology now, it’s so easy.”
