By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
AUSTRALIA’S Inner Wheel president Kay Morland calls the City of Casey home and jumped at the chance to show her chief boss and International president of the ladies service group Charlotte de Vos around.
One of the largest women’s service voluntary organisations in the world, Inner Wheel boasts 100,000 members in more than 103 countries.
Ms de Vos flew from Belgium to Australia on Wednesday 14 October to attend a conference in Warrnambool.
Ms Morland said it was an honour to have the International president visit and stay with her and Mayor Morland.
“It’s been fantastic to speak with Charlotte and realise that we are on the same page with our Inner Wheel goals and projects here in Australia and around the world- one of which is to bring in more young members,” Ms Morland said.
Visiting Australia for the first time, Ms de Vos was gifted a silk scarf designed by local artist Tina Whiteley from the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens as well as a City of Casey watch.
Ms de Vos said she loved embracing the Aussie ways and added that everyone had been very friendly.
“I’m amazed the people are all so kind, you walk on the street and everyone says hello and that can be a tradition that you lose,” she said.
A member since 1987, Ms de Vos, who started in Inner Wheel aged 38, said she had always been involved in service clubs.
“It’s an honour to become president, especially from a small country and I am only the second to become president from Belgium- whereas Australia has four already,” she said.
Spruiking the International Inner Wheel message, happier futures, better lives, Ms de Vos said all of the countries involved in Inner Wheel had different causes, but all striving for better outcomes.
Impressed with the amount of young Casey members involved in the service club, Ms de Vos said Inner Wheel was about friendship, fun, international understanding and social engagement, and encouraged all young women to give it a go.
