New president excited about role

The Rotary Club of Palm Beach has announced its next president, with long-serving Rotarian Rick Dawson stepping up to lead the group.

A member of the group for 14 years, Mr Dawson will take over from current president Ted Curr in June after spending a year learning the ropes.

He first became involved in Rotary after his daughter married the son of a Rotarian and Mr Dawson said he was looking forward to 12 months at the helm.

“I have always enjoyed being able to help the Rockingham community through Rotary and I am lucky to be surrounded by some great people in this club,” he said.

“I have taken on the role of secretary on a few occasions over the years and been involved in the committee, so hopefully stepping up to president will be relatively easy.

“We have some great new projects in the works and I look forward to continuing on with our traditional events throughout my term.

“The Rockingham Beach Cup was a particular highlight for last year and I am excited to take on the challenge of backing it up for a second time.” Mr Dawson spent 21 years in the Navy before becoming a senior wildlife officer with the Department of Parks and Wildlife.

He has been with DPAW for 20 years and during that time has worked closely with Rotary to conserve the Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo population and successfully developed the perfect artificial hollow for breeding purposes.

Along with the acknowledgement of Mr Dawson came the announcement of the first ever Palm Beach Rotary Club female president, with president-elect Teresa Carlson set to follow in his footsteps.

“Rotary has traditionally been a male-dominated organisation but we are working hard to change this image and welcome anyone into the fold,” Mr Dawson said.

“Theresa has been amazing and done many great things for the community.

“She will be a great president and I look forward to helping her when the time comes.”

Ms Carlson has raised over $1 million in funds for research into Cystic Fibrosis after she lost her youngest daughter to the devastating disorder over 15 years ago.

She also received the Paul Harris Fellow Award last year for her ongoing dedication to helping others. The part-time marriage celebrant and store owner said she hoped to inspire more women to become Rota-rians.

“It was a big shock but it was such an honour to be named president-elect,” she said.

“I want to reach out to more women and show them how much fun this can be. I’d really like to do more to promote Rotary.”

Outgoing president Mr Curr said he had greatly enjoyed his time at the helm and welcomed the announcement of Ms Carlson as president-elect.

The presidency will be handed over at a ceremony on June 24.