RITA O’Sullivan never imagined she would influence the dynamics of the Hoppers Crossing Apex Club when she became its first female president.
But Mrs O’Sullivan’s leadership has resulted in an influx of female members joining the club.
“We would love to have some more males,” she said.
“At the moment, 12 of our 19 members are female.”
Her prayers may soon be answered with a presidential handover in August to 24-year-old Adrian Walker.
“I think being president will be a great personal challenge,” Mr Walker said. “We have a great bunch of members at the moment who have good ideas for projects in the coming years so it should be fun.”
Mr Walker doesn’t believe male leadership would affect the gender of new members.
“My perspective is that it’s irrelevant as long as the individuals joining are keen and willing to devote their time,” he said.
Hoppers Crossing Apex Club contributes to the local community by raising money through sausage sizzles and raffles, then using the funds to help those who need it most.
“Youth issues are very important to us,” Mrs O’Sullivan said.
“We donate a lot of things to schools and try to help them out.”
Mrs O’Sullivan and Mr Walker are keen for new members to join the club in its 25th year and help make a difference to the community.
However, only 18 to 45-year-olds need apply, with the retirement age 45.
“Because we are technically a service group, we do a lot of physical work,” Mrs O’Sullivan said.
“We’ve built fences, playgrounds and carried around Christmas trees, so you need to be fairly fit.
“I guess having 45 as retirement age guarantees members can handle the work.”
Apex club members meet on the first and third Monday of each month.
Call 9748 2027 for more information.
