An interesting fact that may be unique to our club is that our president for 2018/2019, Julie Jacobson, is the daughter of Charter Member, Les Coates.
Julie Jacobson (left) proudly taking on the presidency of the Rotary Club of Ulverstone West, whilst acknowledging her late father who was a charter member and a Paul Harris Fellow. Julie's mum, Dot Coates, an honorary member, was also there to celebrate.
We are a really active club with passionate members and are known for:
We have provided food and assistance with the Ulverstone Rodeo and the Lillico Rodeo. The level of our involvement is currently under review.
Festival In the Park is a major celebration of lifestyle, food, wine and entertainment of Tasmania's North West Coast. It is held in Anzac Park on the banks of the beautiful Leven River, in Ulverstone. It is a wonderful event where the 3 generations of Rotary in Ulverstone work together with the Rotary Clubs of Ulverstone West, Ulverstone and the Rotaract Club of Central Coast collaborating to provide our community with this celebration of our local wares. All proceeds from the day go to local projects that benefit the North-West community. Held in February
We collaborate with the District to run RYLA at Camp Clayton in May. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is a leadership development program in Tasmania for ages 18-30. Inspirational keynote presenters and unique activities develop; leadership fundamentals and ethics, communication skills, problem-solving and conflict management, community and global citizenship.
Our Health & Wellbeing Expo and Gala Dinner initiatives raise awareness about ways to build personal health. Providing support networks for those with health difficulties. Our core achievement has been the development of mental health partnerships between beyondblue and Rotary District 9830. We coordinate a free Expo showcasing many different health agencies, with hands-on stalls, health checks and information. This is followed up with the Gala dinner, showcasing Mental Health with interstate and local guest speakers. Held in October. A local football match also showcases Mental Health and is celebrated as a Beyond Blue match, with a guest speaker at an evening forum, promoting awareness of Mental Health issues. We also supported and donated to the Rotary Muster for Mental Health.
ArtEx is the annual Ulverstone West Rotary Club Art Exhibition in conjunction with the North West Art Circle, exhibiting a wide selection of fine paintings from leading local and emerging artists. Running since 1987, it is one of the largest and longest running exhibitions of local art in Tasmania. Held in November.
Another collaborative event with our Ulverstone Rotary Club and Rotaract Club of Central Coast is “Grandparents raising Grandchildren Christmas Dinner.” We provide a 2-course meal and gifts for over 100 grandparents and their grandchildren.
We provide fresh fruit twice weekly for a fruit morning tea at a local Primary School and host a breakfast club at local District School.
We assist with RYDA, Connico-Phillips Science Challenge for local high school students.
Internationally we have recently donated to and had 4 members participate in the Rotary Gift of Sight Nepal Eye Camps, donated to RI’s “Days for Girls” project which provides hygiene products for girls, donated to and participated in RAWCS “Umoja Orphanage” project in Kenya. In the past, we have participated in RAWCS projects in Fiji and Guatemala.
We provide awards to students in our local schools for their academic and sporting achievements.
We also support through working-bees and donations, local people needing assistance, local organisations and medical research projects.
This year our focus is to continue with these great projects but with a real focus on the DG’s 3 tenants: everyone should feel Welcome, Respected and Valued. We are adopting the motto of the White Ribbon movement of “Stand up, Speak Out and Act” if we see or hear anything derogatory, sexist or abusive; believing “The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.