Marcia Dorricot will stand down at today’s meeting of Tewantin-Noosa branch of the Country Women’s Association after serving the people of Noosa with distinction as president for nearly five years.
One of Marcia’s final duties was to ensure the branch is led into the future by a younger and energetic leadership group.
The new president Leigh McCready will be supported by former Noosa councillor Ingrid Jackson as vice-president (Policy and Projects), Jennifer Gleeson as vice-president (Publicity and Membership) and these three women lead a strong committee.
“On Thursday 11 August Queensland CWA celebrates its centenary and Tewantin-Noosa is not far behind,” said Leigh McCready.
“This year marks 95 years since our first meeting was held in 1927, under the fig tree opposite the RSL. Ruth Fairfax, the founder of QCWA had said “We are a great sisterhood of women” and those words need to ring out as true today as they were back then.
“Even as our branch was being established, Sir George Paish in London was warning of the real danger of a world economic breakdown. And within three years came the Great Depression during which the CWA played an important role.
“All these years later we are challenged by issues like the housing crisis, coronavirus and the cost of living.
“We know that there are many women in the Noosa region who are doing it tough.
“One of our ambitions in the CWA is to do whatever we can to ease the pathway for these woman.
“This is in the same spirit that club members pitched in to serve the community in the Great Depression, World War 2, the Vietnam War and through floods, fires and cyclones.”
“Our job is to show that the organisation is just as relevant today as it was in the past,” Leigh McCready said.
“It is said that women join the CWA for a variety of reasons and that it means something different to everyone.
“I believe that’s a good basis for saying to the women of Noosa that CWA is a good place to work on some of the daunting challenges that face women in our community.”
