Ms. Mills, a pioneer of female Rotary membership, was one of the first two women to join Rotary Dunedin in 1995, alongside Astrid Windfuhr, becoming its first female president in 2001.
In the years since her inception, Ms. Mills has watched with approval as the number of women joining the club has steadily increased. Today, 30% of Rotary Dunedin’s members are women.
“Joining the club brought me into a whole new environment, especially with regard to gaining an understanding of the business world,” she said.
“It was great to feel you were contributing your skills to fundraising and supporting the community, and the camaraderie was just fantastic.”
Ms Mills’ first meeting with Rotary Dunedin was when she spoke to the club in her role as a publicity fund-raising officer for the Cancer Society Otago-Southland, hoping to gain support for the organization’s work supporting people with cancer and their families.
“The club has been incredibly supportive of our Cancer Society welfare goals and our cause became a district fundraising drive for Rotary, raising $330,000. That was incredibly valuable support.”
Over the 24 years of her membership – she retired in 2019 – Ms. Mills and Rotary Dunedin have been involved in an extraordinary array of fundraising and hands-on projects.
These include building wooden pathways in the Orokonui Ecosanctuary, distributing fruit, selling many thousands of daffodils, dismantling the former Carisbrook site and selling the materials to raise $200,000 for the Dunedin’s children’s ward. Hospital, the Trees for Families planting project, and building structures and beautification of the West Harbor shared path.
Members of Rotary Dunedin clubs and their families also planted 200,000 daffodil bulbs and thousands of rhododendrons around Dunedin, all donated by the late club member Les Cleveland.
“Over the years, there have been so many opportunities to really put your skills to use for the community in practical ways.”
Becoming the first female club president and later taking on district positions for Rotary pushed Mrs. Mills out of her comfort zone.
“But then it was a great experience to lead the club for 12 months,” she said.
“I was supported very well, and it came with a lot of opportunities.”
Although retired, Ms Mills remains highly interested in Rotary Dunedin and is delighted to see the club enter its centenary in 2023 with a female chairman, Fiona Nyhof.
After a career of 29 years with the Cancer Society, Ms Mills is involved in health as a member of the Health Council.