Volunteering changed David Annear’s life.
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Mr Annear says he’s felt no greater reward than the value of helping the community.
He’s helped save dozens of lives as a volunteer for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, steer young people towards prosperous career paths alongside the Beacon Foundation, and more recently supported a Papua New Guinean university student studying in Tasmania.
But he said the foundations of his charitable spirit rest lie with the Rotary Club of West Tamar.
The club president-elect said he has been an official member for two years, though his association with rotary dates back to when his father was a charter member.
“My mother was also a member of the Inner Wheel Club in West Tamar, back then when rotary started it was men only, so Inner Wheel was the women’s branch,” Mr Annear said.
“But now they represent a large percentage of membership, which is terrific.”
He said as he got older, members of the rotary club invited him and other teenagers to working bees.
“We learned the value of doing community service work from a very young age, and that had a profound influence on my life.”
The municipalities rotary club started in 1960, but was known as Rotary Club Beaconsfield.
It wasn’t until 1987 that the club became the Rotary Club of West Tamar Inc.
Their first community service project was the establishment of a park adjacent to the council chambers at Beaconsfield – now known as the Miners Reserve, the venue of the annual Gold Festival.
Rotary in itself dates back to 1905, when a lawyer named Paul Harris met with mining engineer Hiam Shorey and various others in an Italian restaurant in Chicago.
The group discussed the idea of business men getting together periodically, and by 1910 it became a national organisation.
Australia’s first Rotary Club was established in Melbourne in 1921, followed by clubs in Hobart and Launceston in 1924.
Rotary International’s purpose was to bring business and professional leaders together to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in the workplace, and advance goodwill and peace around the world.
Their ideals are echoed by Mr Annear, who said the Rotary Club of West Tamar raises about $20,000 for charities each year, including White Ribbon Day and financing medical research through Australian Rotary Health.
Former president Brian Bates remembered some of the club’s achievements.
“The Fireworks Night we ran that for number of years, very very successful. The last one we did on the river was down at Gravelly Beach,” Mr Bates said.
Among the club’s historic achievements is developing the Elderly Citizens Homes, now known as Beaconsfield Park.
“We also did a lot of the early work toward the Beaconsfield Mine & Heritage Centre, and funnily enough we went down underground, into the place that has now collapsed.”
Club president James Tyson said he was proud of being able to help one student afford four years worth of high schooling in Kenya.
Other successes in 2016 include a $750 contribution to the Ben Lomond Ski Rescue team, allowing them to upgrade their equipment.
The funding was a combined effort between the Launceston and West Tamar clubs, with the remainder of the $3000 grant sourced from the Rotary Foundation.
In 2016, the club also found a new youth leader in 26-year-old Amy McGinniss, who became the year’s Rylarian after completing the Rotary Youth Leadership Award.
The week-long camp was held in Ulverstone for 18 to 25-year-olds and featured workshops teaching young people teamwork, communication and motivation.
Ms McGinniss said she became involved in rotary after speaking to Mr Annear.
“It’s given me the confidence to attend and assist at a summer camp in a couple of weeks time at Gravelly Beach,” Ms McGinniss said.
She said the camp inspired her to take on further leadership training.
“I think I’ve let go of a lot of what people think about me, before I was always worried about judgement and would hold myself back from doing things I wanted to do.”
“Amy McGinniss’ life has changed dramatically and it’s wonderful because the direction her life is taking is her involvement in helping other people change their lives,” Mr Annear said.
Mr Annear said he was proud to work with the Beacon Foundation in giving presentations at Cressy, Kings Meadows, Prospect, and Scottsdale High Schools – mentoring young people about the future of work.
“You talk to them about their physical presentation, how they are dressed to be appropriate for the job, about having respect for themselves and the people they work with.”
“I try and relate it to something they might understand. You’re a batsman in a one day cricket team, and you’ve got a match. You get one innings, so make it count, don’t put off things because you think you’ve got time later.”