New Rotary club president

Southbank has a new rotary club president, but she is by no means new to the job.

Her name is Wendy Bennett and she told Southbank Local News about what the job means to her and her plans as president. 

Ms Bennett currently works as a mortgage broker which she has done for the last 16 years. Before that she was in the banking and finance industry for 28 years. She has previously been the president of the Southbank Rotary Club during 2003/04.

Ms Bennett first became involved in the Southbank Rotary about 15 years ago but had previously been active at another club. “I became involved with Southbank Rotary one month after they chartered which was back in 1999, at that time I lived in Port Melbourne and the club met at Crown.”

She has plenty of plans for the club during her tenure. “We are looking to continue our strong relationship with the Boyd Centre,” she said.

She said the club would also continue to work closely with the Hanover House on one of its volunteer programs. Hanover House helps homeless Victorians.

One of the main challenges in her job is finding new members. The support of the Southbank community is strong at the moment and each of the new members is required to understand what being in Rotary is about. “It is about having a strong team of people being prepared to work within the community locally and internationally,” she said.

While a lot has happened since her first stint as president, Ms Bennett wouldn’t swap Rotary clubs. “I would not change clubs as we have achieved a lot in the 15 years and I could not see myself at another club,”
she said.

She also believes that Southbank Rotary is special as there is always great community spirit in Southbank and will be long into the future. “We have always targeted local charities such as Hanover House and it has showed us how strong community spirit
is here.