MEMBER STORIES
Real people. Real impact. Meet the members of the Rotary Club of North Hobart.
Jump to a story.
Jump to a story.
- Dr John Thorne AM — The only Tasmanian Rotarian ever to sit on the Rotary International Board
- Brian Claridge — 30 years balancing books; now balancing budgets, bushwalks and gardens
- Erika Hernandez Valencia — From the coffee highlands of Colombia to the waterways of Hobart
- Brodie Farrell-Oates — From Antarctica to Hobart, building things that matter
- Marnie Hill — Soldier. Advocate. Agent. Rotarian.
- Dr Jenny Kerrison — She helped wipe malaria off the map. She lives here.
- Ian Geard — 95 years young. Still showing up. Still making an impact.
He’s the only Tasmanian Rotarian ever to earn a place on the Rotary International Board. He still shows up every Tuesday at the Maypole.
What does a life of service look like when it spans six decades, four continents, and the very top of a global organisation? Meet Dr John Thorne AM.
Some members join Rotary and find a community. John joined Rotary and found lifelong friends within a vehicle big enough for a life that was already extraordinary — and then helped steer it.
From the Classroom to the World Stage
John trained as a Maths and Science teacher, but it was a different calling that shaped his early career; the Education Department sent him to Melbourne to train as a teacher of hearing-impaired children, and in 1961 he became the Foundation Principal of the new Tasmanian school for deaf children — within the same Campbell Street School site our club still has links with today.
He went on to complete a PhD at the University of Tasmania, and along the way earned a Rotary Foundation Fellowship to the United States — at a time when he wasn't even a Rotarian. That experience brought him home and through the doors of the Rotary Club of North Hobart, where he's been a member ever since.
A Parallel Life in Scouting
Long before — and alongside — his Rotary career, John spent more than 30 years as a Scout Leader, earning a Long Service Award, a Medal of Merit (Australia) and another Medal of Merit in the USA. He started two Scout Troops and a Rover Crew in Tasmania, served as an Area Commissioner and National Adult Leader Trainer, and — while in the US on that Rotary Fellowship — co-founded a Scout Troop for hearing-impaired boys in Los Angeles. Two very different organisations. One consistent thread: building something that gives young
people a place to belong.
From District Governor to the World Board
John’s Rotary path went from District Governor to Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator for the South Pacific (1993–95), then to Lead Trainer of Rotary’s global Regional Foundation Coordinators — a role he held for 3 years; then ran national seminars for Ambassadorial Scholars and Peace Fellows for another 15 years. In addition with an overseas leader he was part of the duo that brought Rotary’s Peace Centre to the University of Queensland.
Then, from 2002 to 2004, John served as a Director of Rotary International — a member of Rotary’s
global Board; one of only 17 people in the world holding that role at any time. He remains the only Tasmanian Rotarian ever to do so.
At his very first Board meeting, he championed the recognition of Timor-Leste as a country for Rotary — years before the Rotary Club of North Hobart would lead the malaria elimination work that helped that same nation become malaria-free! He chaired the Finance Committee, served on the Executive, and presented Rotary’s financial report — including a challenging motion to raise dues — at the 2004 Council on Legislation.
Still Building, Still Local
In the years since, John has co-founded and chaired two global Rotary Action Groups — Food Plant Solutions, which he chaired for around eight years and which now tackles food security worldwide, and the Literacy RAG, where he later became Chair and newsletter editor. Food Plant Solutions grew directly into “Fresh Food for Families” a program our own club has supported. He also serves on the Board of the global “Hearing Rotary Action Group”.
Closer to home, John has helped organise food packs for local families during COVID-19,
supported migrant teenagers attending leadership courses, managed a hostel in Chiang Rai for nine years so students from Thailand’s hill regions could attend high school, and helped supply fresh water appliances to schools in Bhutan.
The Honours
A surprise to John was in 1997 when The Rotary Foundation of Rotary awarded him the global “Alumni Award” - just one award per year! The citation reads, “In tribute to your exceptional leadership as an educator of the deaf and for teaching the disadvantaged to become self-sufficient and economically empowered.” In 2005, John was invested as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) — Australia’s singular form of recognition — “For service to the community through a range of executive roles with Rotary International and with disability organisations and to education.” In 2020, Volunteering Tasmania recognised him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
Why This Matters for You
John didn’t serve Rotary International globally by chasing titles. He arrived by saying yes — to a teaching posting, to a scholarship, to a local club, to one more role, and then another, for over fifty years.
If you’re wondering what’s actually possible through a club like ours — what doors a Tuesday night at the Maypole can eventually open — John is the answer. Not because everyone reaches the Board of Rotary International. But because the habit of service, sustained over a lifetime, takes you further than you’d ever guess at the start in working as a volunteer with others to make real differences.
Come and find out what we could do together next. Join us on a Tuesday.
Some members join Rotary and find a community. John joined Rotary and found lifelong friends within a vehicle big enough for a life that was already extraordinary — and then helped steer it.
From the Classroom to the World Stage
John trained as a Maths and Science teacher, but it was a different calling that shaped his early career; the Education Department sent him to Melbourne to train as a teacher of hearing-impaired children, and in 1961 he became the Foundation Principal of the new Tasmanian school for deaf children — within the same Campbell Street School site our club still has links with today.
He went on to complete a PhD at the University of Tasmania, and along the way earned a Rotary Foundation Fellowship to the United States — at a time when he wasn't even a Rotarian. That experience brought him home and through the doors of the Rotary Club of North Hobart, where he's been a member ever since.
A Parallel Life in Scouting
Long before — and alongside — his Rotary career, John spent more than 30 years as a Scout Leader, earning a Long Service Award, a Medal of Merit (Australia) and another Medal of Merit in the USA. He started two Scout Troops and a Rover Crew in Tasmania, served as an Area Commissioner and National Adult Leader Trainer, and — while in the US on that Rotary Fellowship — co-founded a Scout Troop for hearing-impaired boys in Los Angeles. Two very different organisations. One consistent thread: building something that gives young
people a place to belong.
From District Governor to the World Board
John’s Rotary path went from District Governor to Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator for the South Pacific (1993–95), then to Lead Trainer of Rotary’s global Regional Foundation Coordinators — a role he held for 3 years; then ran national seminars for Ambassadorial Scholars and Peace Fellows for another 15 years. In addition with an overseas leader he was part of the duo that brought Rotary’s Peace Centre to the University of Queensland.
Then, from 2002 to 2004, John served as a Director of Rotary International — a member of Rotary’s
global Board; one of only 17 people in the world holding that role at any time. He remains the only Tasmanian Rotarian ever to do so.
At his very first Board meeting, he championed the recognition of Timor-Leste as a country for Rotary — years before the Rotary Club of North Hobart would lead the malaria elimination work that helped that same nation become malaria-free! He chaired the Finance Committee, served on the Executive, and presented Rotary’s financial report — including a challenging motion to raise dues — at the 2004 Council on Legislation.
Still Building, Still Local
In the years since, John has co-founded and chaired two global Rotary Action Groups — Food Plant Solutions, which he chaired for around eight years and which now tackles food security worldwide, and the Literacy RAG, where he later became Chair and newsletter editor. Food Plant Solutions grew directly into “Fresh Food for Families” a program our own club has supported. He also serves on the Board of the global “Hearing Rotary Action Group”.
Closer to home, John has helped organise food packs for local families during COVID-19,
supported migrant teenagers attending leadership courses, managed a hostel in Chiang Rai for nine years so students from Thailand’s hill regions could attend high school, and helped supply fresh water appliances to schools in Bhutan.
The Honours
A surprise to John was in 1997 when The Rotary Foundation of Rotary awarded him the global “Alumni Award” - just one award per year! The citation reads, “In tribute to your exceptional leadership as an educator of the deaf and for teaching the disadvantaged to become self-sufficient and economically empowered.” In 2005, John was invested as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) — Australia’s singular form of recognition — “For service to the community through a range of executive roles with Rotary International and with disability organisations and to education.” In 2020, Volunteering Tasmania recognised him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
Why This Matters for You
John didn’t serve Rotary International globally by chasing titles. He arrived by saying yes — to a teaching posting, to a scholarship, to a local club, to one more role, and then another, for over fifty years.
If you’re wondering what’s actually possible through a club like ours — what doors a Tuesday night at the Maypole can eventually open — John is the answer. Not because everyone reaches the Board of Rotary International. But because the habit of service, sustained over a lifetime, takes you further than you’d ever guess at the start in working as a volunteer with others to make real differences.
Come and find out what we could do together next. Join us on a Tuesday.
He Spent 30 Years Balancing Other People’s Books. Now He Balances Budgets, Bushwalks, and Gardens — Meet Brian Claridge.
Some people retire and slow down. Brian Claridge retired and became the person the Rotary Club of North Hobart trusts most with the numbers.
A Career Built on Trust
Brian spent more than 20 years as a tax practitioner, running his own North Hobart accounting practice and earning fellowships with the Institute of Public Accountants, the National Tax and Accountants Association, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. For decades, small businesses and families across Hobart relied on him for sound, careful advice — the kind of advice that doesn’t just solve today’s problem but holds up over time.
That instinct for steady, reliable stewardship didn’t stop when he retired. It found a new home in community service.
That instinct for steady, reliable stewardship didn’t stop when he retired. It found a new home in community service.
Steady hands at the helm
Brian has served the Rotary Club of North Hobart as both Past President and Treasurer — the two roles that ask the most of a member’s judgement and time. As Treasurer, he’s the quiet figure behind the scenes making sure the club’s finances are sound, its grants are accountable, and its projects are properly funded. As Past President, he’s helped steer the club through change while keeping its feet on the ground.
It’s the kind of contribution that rarely makes headlines — but without it, none of the club’s bigger projects would be possible.
It’s the kind of contribution that rarely makes headlines — but without it, none of the club’s bigger projects would be possible.
Hands in the Soil, Hands at the Stall.
Brian’s community service shows up in the practical, hands-on jobs too. He’s the member quietly potting up flowers ahead of the club’s market stalls, making sure there’s always something fresh and ready to sell. And on sausage sizzle days, his warm, easy manner makes him a natural — equally at home chatting with fellow members behind the barbecue or making customers feel welcome as they queue for a snag.
LIFE OUTSIDE ROTARY
Retirement gave Brian more than time for community work — it gave him back the outdoors. He’s an enthusiastic bushwalker, regularly out exploring Tasmania’s trails, and a keen gardener who brings the same patience and attention to his own garden that he once brought to a tax return. He also volunteers with the Still Gardening program and supports the work of BCC Africa Inc.
“Whether it’s a balance sheet, a bushwalk, or a garden bed — it’s all about getting the foundations right.”
“Whether it’s a balance sheet, a bushwalk, or a garden bed — it’s all about getting the foundations right.”
why rotary?
For Brian, the motivation is simple and heartfelt:
“Rotary gives me the opportunity to repay society for the great support I have had over my lifetime, and to provide hope and inspiration to those less fortunate.”
Could This Be You? If you’re nearing retirement and wondering what comes next, Brian’s story is worth a look. He didn’t slow down — he redirected decades of professional discipline toward something that matters to his community.
The Rotary Club of North Hobart meets every Tuesday at 6:00 pm at the Maypole Hotel in New Town. Come as a visitor. See what’s happening. Leave knowing whether it’s for you.
We’d love to have you at the table.
“Rotary gives me the opportunity to repay society for the great support I have had over my lifetime, and to provide hope and inspiration to those less fortunate.”
Could This Be You? If you’re nearing retirement and wondering what comes next, Brian’s story is worth a look. He didn’t slow down — he redirected decades of professional discipline toward something that matters to his community.
The Rotary Club of North Hobart meets every Tuesday at 6:00 pm at the Maypole Hotel in New Town. Come as a visitor. See what’s happening. Leave knowing whether it’s for you.
We’d love to have you at the table.
FROM THE COFFEE HIGHLANDS OF COLOMBIA TO THE WATERWAYS OF HOBART. MEET ERIKA HERNANDEZ VALENCIA. KNOW WHY SHE BUILDS COMMUNITY WHEREVER SHE LANDS.
Some professionals arrive in a new city and wait to belong. Erika Hernandez Valencia arrives and starts building.
She is an Environmental Advisor with CPB Contractors, currently working on the Selfs Point Sewer Transformation Project — one of the most significant pieces of water infrastructure Hobart has seen in a generation, delivered through TasWater's Capital Delivery Office. She holds strong academic credentials from the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira. She has built a career spanning environmental management, urban and rural planning, infrastructure delivery, and sustainability consulting across both the public and private sectors. And in her spare time, she co-leads the Tasmanian chapter of the Environmental Professional Community of Australia.
She joined the Rotary Club of North Hobart for the same reason she does everything else: because she believes that a city is only as good as the people who choose to invest in it.
Where She Comes From
Erika was born and raised in Pereira, Colombia — a city in the heart of the country's World Heritage Coffee Cultural Landscape, set at altitude in one of the most biodiverse regions on earth, known for its colourful houses and its position at the meeting point of three Andean mountain ranges.
Colombia is South America's second most populous country. Growing up in Pereira means growing up with a bone-deep understanding of the relationship between people, land, and water. That understanding is not something you learn in a classroom. It is the ground under your feet.
It followed her into university, into her career, and eventually to Tasmania — an island state with its own profound reckoning between infrastructure and wild nature.
What She Does Here
At CPB Contractors, Erika's role is to ensure that the environmental complexity of major infrastructure projects is taken seriously — not managed around, but genuinely understood, monitored, and respected. Her expertise spans environmental management systems, GIS, sustainability consulting, and risk mitigation. Her approach, as she describes it, is to help to deliver triple benefits: environmental, social, and economic. Sustainability and resilience, not as buzzwords, but as outcomes.
The Selfs Point project sits alongside Cornelian Bay — home to Great Egrets, White-faced Herons, Black Swans, Pied Oystercatchers, Pied Cormorants, and a rotating cast of native waterbirds. That a major construction project is unfolding nearby with minimal ecological disruption is not an accident. It is the result of careful, expert environmental management.
The Community She's Building
Here is what sets Erika apart from many professionals her age: she doesn't wait for community to find her.
As a leader of the E.P.C.A Tassie Series — the Tasmanian chapter of the Environmental Professional Community of Australia — she has been convening events that bring together students, professionals, environmental experts, and community members across disciplines. She hosted the chapter's session on software tools in architecture and construction at CSIRO's Battery Point facility. She organises. She connects. She builds the table and then invites people to it.
That instinct — to create professional community, not just participate in it — is exactly what Rotary recognises and nurtures.
Why Rotary
She didn't join the Rotary Club of North Hobart because she had spare evenings. She joined because she recognised something in the club that matched something in herself: the conviction that professional expertise is most powerful when it's pointed outward, at the world beyond your own organisation.
For a professional whose career already sits at the intersection of environmental science, infrastructure, and community development — and who is already building professional networks in her own time — Rotary is a natural extension, not an addition.
She brings to the club exactly what the club values: rigorous expertise, international perspective, entrepreneurial energy, and a genuine commitment to the city she has chosen to call home.
"My approach consistently delivers triple benefits — environmental, social, and economic."
Could This Be You?
If you're a working professional in Hobart — in science, engineering, planning, health, law, or anything else — and you've been wondering whether Rotary fits into an already full life, Erika is a pretty honest answer.
She didn't arrive with spare time. She arrived with purpose.
The Rotary Club of North Hobart meets every Tuesday at 6:00 pm at the Maypole Hotel in New Town. Come as a visitor. See what's happening. Leave knowing whether it's for you.
We'd love to have you at the table.
Meet Brodie
From Antarctica to Hobart—building things that matter
If you’ve ever wondered whether Rotary is for someone like you, Brodie is a pretty good answer.
He’s a web developer with the Australian Antarctic Division, working on websites used by millions of people each year.
His work supports one of Australia’s most important scientific programs—and yes, he’s been there, working at Davis Station in East Antarctica.
He’s previously been a tech startup co-founder, a community radio builder, a music industry entrepreneur, and a finalist in the Tasmanian Young Achiever
Awards.
And on Tuesday nights, you’ll find him at the Maypole with the
Rotary Club of North Hobart.
Building things—wherever he is
Brodie’s career sits at the intersection of technology, science, and real-world impact.
With the Australian Antarctic Division, he helps build and maintain the digital presence of Australia’s Antarctic program—helping users around the world
learn about Antarctica and the importance of science on the continent.
Alongside that, he’s a former co-founder of Cycle Inspect, a global startup using advanced testing technology to identify hidden structural damage in
bicycles—helping prevent accidents before they happen.
Different worlds, same theme:
build something useful, solve real problems, make it better
It didn’t start with a job title
What stands out about Brodie isn’t just what he does now—it’s how early he started doing it.
He co-founded a community radio station HCFM at Hobart College
Built and managed a portfolio of Tasmanian electronic music artists
Ran events and released music through his own music label
Worked in hospitality management for as a business grew from 30 to 80+ staff and multiple new locations
There’s a clear pattern:
he doesn’t wait for permission—he builds things that matter
Bringing values into the real world. Before he even joined Rotary, Brodie was already putting its values into action.
He led the installation of Rotary Peace Poles across Australian Antarctic Division sites—bringing a global message of peace and reflection into a scientific workplace.
It’s a simple idea, but a powerful one: use your skills, your workplace, your environment—to make a positive impact
A global perspective, grounded in Hobart
Brodie’s work and experience have taken him far beyond Tasmania—from Antarctica to New York and Chicago, including a visit to Rotary International
headquarters in Evanston.
But his focus remains grounded: contributing locally, building community, and connecting people
So why Rotary? For someone like Brodie, Rotary isn’t about meetings or tradition.
It’s about:
- connecting with people who with a similar passion for the community
- working on projects that have real impact
- being part of something bigger—locally and globally
In his words and actions, Rotary isn’t a place you go after you’ve “made it.”
It’s where people who are making things happen find each other.
A different kind of membership
Brodie is part of a new generation shaping what Rotary looks like.
As Vice President and President Elect (2027–28), and District Web Manager, he’s helping modernise how Rotary connects, communicates, and engages—making it more accessible for the next wave of members.
Thinking about getting involved?
You don’t need to have been to Antarctica.
You don’t need a perfect résumé.
You just need to care about your community and be open to meeting good people.
Come along to an event, have a conversation, and see if it’s for you.
sOLDIER. ADVOCATE. AGENT. ROTARIAN.
MEET MARNIE HILL. lEARN THE QUESTION SHE ANSWERS BY JUST SHOWING UP.
Most people pick one thing to be known for. Marnie Hill didn’t get that memo — and Hobart is better for it.
She is a property professional with nearly two decades of experience at PRD Hobart, a serving Reservist in the Australian Army, a national office-holder in one of the world’s leading real estate bodies, a local community association leader, and a Past President of the Rotary Club of North Hobart. At any one of those things alone, she’d be worth knowing. Together, they raise an obvious question: how?
The short answer is that for people like Marnie, service isn’t a drain on energy — it’s the source of it.
On the National StageMarnie holds a role most Tasmanians wouldn’t even know exists. Since 2018, she has served as Australian Vice President of FIABCI — the International Real Estate Federation, a Paris-based global body representing property professionals across dozens of countries. She was re-elected to the role in 2019, representing Tasmania and South Australia at the national leadership table of one of the world’s most significant property industry organisations.
It means she has spent years thinking about real estate not just as transactions, but as a force that shapes communities, cities, and lives — locally and globally. That perspective shows in the way she talks about Hobart.
On the Parade GroundThen there’s the Army.
Marnie is a serving Reservist in the Australian Army — a commitment she carries alongside her real estate career, her national industry role, her community work, and family life as a mum of two adult children. The Army Reserve asks a lot of ordinary life: weekends, training, discipline, and a willingness to be called upon. Marnie considers that a reasonable ask. That says something about her.
Close to HomeMarnie is also an active member of the Lenah Valley Community Association, staying close to her neighbourhood and the people who live in it. Within Rotary, she has brought that same ground-level instinct to high-visibility projects — including sharing April Falls Day awareness at New Town Plaza, using her platform to educate Hobart’s seniors on fall prevention and safety.
These aren’t token gestures. They’re the work of someone who genuinely believes that proximity to a community is a form of accountability to it.
What She Brings to the RoomMarnie served as President of the Rotary Club of North Hobart in 2025–26 — a term that left the club stronger, more professionally run, and more deeply embedded in the Hobart community. She is the kind of leader who builds things up rather than coasting on them.
For a younger professional thinking about what Rotary actually looks like in a busy life, Marnie is a pretty honest answer. She isn’t here because she has spare time. She’s here because service is part of who she is — and because the Rotary Club of North Hobart is a place where that kind of person belongs.
“Service doesn’t drain your energy. It generates it.”
Could This Be You?If you’re a working professional in Hobart — already stretched, already committed — and you’ve been wondering whether Rotary is worth your time, Marnie Hill is a pretty good case study.
The Rotary Club of North Hobart is a community of people who show up. We meet every Tuesday at 6:00 pm at the Maypole Hotel in New Town. There’s no hard sell, no expectation that you arrive with all the answers. You just have to be curious about what it looks like to make a difference in the city you live in.
Come as a visitor. Leave knowing whether it’s for you.
We’d love to have you at the table.
She is a property professional with nearly two decades of experience at PRD Hobart, a serving Reservist in the Australian Army, a national office-holder in one of the world’s leading real estate bodies, a local community association leader, and a Past President of the Rotary Club of North Hobart. At any one of those things alone, she’d be worth knowing. Together, they raise an obvious question: how?
The short answer is that for people like Marnie, service isn’t a drain on energy — it’s the source of it.
On the National StageMarnie holds a role most Tasmanians wouldn’t even know exists. Since 2018, she has served as Australian Vice President of FIABCI — the International Real Estate Federation, a Paris-based global body representing property professionals across dozens of countries. She was re-elected to the role in 2019, representing Tasmania and South Australia at the national leadership table of one of the world’s most significant property industry organisations.
It means she has spent years thinking about real estate not just as transactions, but as a force that shapes communities, cities, and lives — locally and globally. That perspective shows in the way she talks about Hobart.
On the Parade GroundThen there’s the Army.
Marnie is a serving Reservist in the Australian Army — a commitment she carries alongside her real estate career, her national industry role, her community work, and family life as a mum of two adult children. The Army Reserve asks a lot of ordinary life: weekends, training, discipline, and a willingness to be called upon. Marnie considers that a reasonable ask. That says something about her.
Close to HomeMarnie is also an active member of the Lenah Valley Community Association, staying close to her neighbourhood and the people who live in it. Within Rotary, she has brought that same ground-level instinct to high-visibility projects — including sharing April Falls Day awareness at New Town Plaza, using her platform to educate Hobart’s seniors on fall prevention and safety.
These aren’t token gestures. They’re the work of someone who genuinely believes that proximity to a community is a form of accountability to it.
What She Brings to the RoomMarnie served as President of the Rotary Club of North Hobart in 2025–26 — a term that left the club stronger, more professionally run, and more deeply embedded in the Hobart community. She is the kind of leader who builds things up rather than coasting on them.
For a younger professional thinking about what Rotary actually looks like in a busy life, Marnie is a pretty honest answer. She isn’t here because she has spare time. She’s here because service is part of who she is — and because the Rotary Club of North Hobart is a place where that kind of person belongs.
“Service doesn’t drain your energy. It generates it.”
Could This Be You?If you’re a working professional in Hobart — already stretched, already committed — and you’ve been wondering whether Rotary is worth your time, Marnie Hill is a pretty good case study.
The Rotary Club of North Hobart is a community of people who show up. We meet every Tuesday at 6:00 pm at the Maypole Hotel in New Town. There’s no hard sell, no expectation that you arrive with all the answers. You just have to be curious about what it looks like to make a difference in the city you live in.
Come as a visitor. Leave knowing whether it’s for you.
We’d love to have you at the table.
She Helped Wipe Malaria Off the Map. She Lives Here.
A post in celebration of Timor-Leste's WHO Malaria-Free Certification
What does it actually look like when a Rotary club changes the world? It looks like a nurse from Hobart, a grant, 45,000 bed nets, and a nation declared malaria-free.
Last year, we celebrated one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of the Rotary Club of North Hobart — and we celebrate the woman at the centre of it.
Dr Jenny Kerrison PhD, DEd, RN — Past President, member, and one of the most quietly extraordinary people you will ever meet on a Tuesday night at the Maypole Hotel — is a member of the Rotary International Cadre of Technical Advisors, in the field of Child and Maternal Health. We couldn't be prouder. And we think you should know why.
The Story Behind the Certification
Timor-Leste has been declared malaria-free by the World Health Organisation.
That is a sentence representing decades of work by governments, health systems, and communities across a fragile, post-conflict nation. And embedded in that achievement — in the bed nets, the trained health workers, the spraying units, the data — is the fingerprint of the Rotary Club of North Hobart.
Jenny led our club's US$251,334 Rotary Global Grant — the largest and most complex international project in our club's history. She didn't manage it from a desk in Hobart. She went to Timor-Leste. She sat with the Ministry of Health and the WHO. She trained community health workers in villages. She came home and raised more money and went back.
The results are not abstract:
- 45,000+ insecticide-treated bed nets distributed, prioritising pregnant women
- 80 indoor residual spraying units deployed to protect households
- 100+ community health workers trained to sustain prevention locally
- 200,000+ people directly protected
- And one nation — certified malaria-free
Who is Jenny Kerrison?
She is a registered nurse who kept going back to university until she had a PhD and a Doctor of Education, because she believed that understanding why people engage with healthcare was just as important as the healthcare itself.
Her early research in Tasmania focused on pregnant teenagers — understanding what they needed to stay connected to care. That same instinct — go to the community, listen, design for the real world, not the textbook — has defined everything she has done since.
Over more than a decade she has worked in Bangladesh, Timor-Leste and Indonesia. In Bangladesh alone, she spent seven years at Kumudini Hospital, introducing triage systems, newborn observation charts, and infection prevention practices — and doing two years of lecturing pro bono — in a resource-limited setting where every improvement had to be built to last without her.
Today she is a Nurse Learning Facilitator at Torrens University in Melbourne, shaping the next generation of nurses. She is also a Board Member of the RAM-Global Rotary Action Group and a Rotary Foundation Regional Technical Lead for Australia. She is still a member of our club.
Why This Matters for You
If you are an under-45 professional wondering what Rotary membership can actually mean — this is your answer.
Jenny didn't arrive at the Rotary International stage fully formed. She arrived at a Tuesday night meeting in North Hobart. The club gave her a platform, a network, access to Global Grant funding, and the backing of an international organisation with reach into ministries of health across the Asia-Pacific.
She did the rest.
That same platform exists for you. The Rotary Club of North Hobart is a small club with an outsized footprint — in global health, in media, in environmental action, and in the corridors of Rotary International itself. We are a club where your professional skills are taken seriously and pointed at problems that actually matter.
Timor-Leste is malaria-free. In part, because of what happened in this club.
Come and find out what we could do together next. Join us on a Tuesday night.
95 Years Young. Still Showing Up. Still Making an Impact.
What does a lifetime of service actually look like? Meet Ian Geard.
In a club that celebrates NextGen leadership, we also celebrate something rarer: the living proof of where a life of service can take you.
This month, the Rotary Club of North Hobart marks a milestone that stopped us in our tracks.
Ian Geard turned 95.
And last Tuesday, he was at the Maypole Hotel. Same as always.
The Career That Spanned the World
Ian didn't set out to be a community champion. He set out to be a scientist.
As an Agricultural Scientist with the Tasmanian Department of Agriculture, Ian spent his professional life solving one of humanity's most fundamental problems: how do we feed people well, and do it sustainably? That question took him far beyond Tasmania.
As an international consultant, Ian worked on agricultural development and food security programs alongside some of the most significant organisations on the planet — the European Union, the World Bank, and United Nations programs — supporting sustainable farming practices and improving livelihoods in developing regions across the globe.
He also made many visits to Nepal and Bhutan — two of the world's most distinctive and challenging agricultural environments — deepening his understanding of rural communities and the human dimension of food security that no textbook can teach.
This was not a man who attended conferences and filed reports. This was a man who went to the places, learned from the people, and built things that lasted.
Then He Came Home. And Kept Serving.
For more than 30 years, Ian has been a devoted member of the Rotary Club of North Hobart — long enough to have seen presidents come and go, projects launched and completed, the world change around him several times over.
He has never sought the spotlight. He has sought the work.
Fundraising. Fellowship. Community service. The quiet, reliable presence that every volunteer organisation depends on far more than it sometimes acknowledges. Ian is the kind of member who shows up — not for recognition, but because showing up is what people of character do.
At 95, He's Still On Camera
Here is our favourite detail.
When our club launched its Falls Prevention campaign — our Steady on Your Feet initiative supported by the Calvary Community Council — we needed someone to appear in a community awareness film. Someone authentic. Someone whose presence would carry genuine weight with the older Australians we were trying to reach.
Ian said yes.
At 95 years of age, he stood in front of the camera and delivered a message about staying safe, active and independent — not as a token gesture, but as a man who is the message. His contribution brought exactly the warmth and credibility that no script could manufacture.
That is Ian Geard in a single image: still learning, still contributing, still the first to put his hand up.
What Ian Means to a Club That Celebrates Under-45s
We talk a lot on this page about what Rotary offers young professionals. The networks. The platform. The global reach. The career development.
Ian is the reason those things are worth having.
He is the living answer to the question every NextGen member will eventually ask themselves: "If I pour myself into this — into service, into community, into something beyond my own career — what does that life actually look like?"
It looks like Ian Geard at 95, still sharp, still generous, still in the room.
A man who worked with the World Bank and the United Nations — and still turns up on a Tuesday night in New Town because the work matters and the people matter.
We don't use the word legend lightly. But some people earn it quietly, over decades, without ever asking for it.
Happy 95th, Ian. The club would not be what it is without you.
The Rotary Club of North Hobart is a multigenerational community of professionals united by service. From our NextGen leaders to our living legends, there is a place at our table for everyone who believes in something bigger than themselves. Come and find yours.