PERSONAL recognition also brings acknowledgement to others, OAM recipient Helen Ross says.
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Mrs Ross was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day honours list for service to the Port Macquarie community.
Helen and her husband John, who also received an OAM in 1999, have a history of community involvement.
“When you are working and living in a community for the amount of time we have been, you become involved and engaged in that community and you want to contribute,” Mrs Ross said.
John and Helen Ross arrived in Port Macquarie in 1987 and opened the town’s first McDonald’s restaurant.
They set a $20,000 fund-raising target in the first year of operation for Ronald McDonald House Charities.
The Ronald McDonald House Charities supports seriously ill children and their families when they need it most.
A committee was formed and the target was met with the support of the community.
The Ross’s McDonald’s interests grew and now life post-McDonald’s remains filled with voluntary commitments.
Mrs Ross’s membership of the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise is one of those commitments.
“Our club is made up of a great diverse group of people,” she said.
The club’s work includes the Tacking Point Lighthouse Restoration project, in conjunction with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, which has progressed to stage four.
Helen is a Hastings Education Fund patron and a community representative on Charles Sturt University’s Regional Consultative Committee.
Helen and John are major sponsors of the Glasshouse, a facility which Mrs Ross describes as a great community asset.
Helen and John continue to support Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Mrs Ross’s community involvement also includes the Hastings Business Women’s Network, while she has raised money for charities including Clean Up Australia, Koala Preservation Society, Rotary Health Research Foundation, Lord Howe Historical Museum, Save the Children Fund and Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Mrs Ross’s career included time as a East-West Airlines flight attendant, a Qantas ground hostess and working with VIPs in a public relations role with Qantas.
As for the future, Mrs Ross plans to collate her parents’ personal stories and to write her life story, as well as devote time to family and travelling with John.
lisa.tisdell@fairfaxmedia.com.au