General News
24 March, 2026
Rotary celebrates Women in Leadership
The Rotary Club of Horsham East applauded women in leadership at its meeting on March 4 by joining with clubs from Warracknabeal and Nhill and combining their event with International Women's Day.
"This year we invited four women in leadership roles from our community," Rotarian Robyn Lardner said.
"Last year's event was enjoyed so much we decided to bring you four more ladies this year to share their careers in leadership.
"They have such interesting stories to tell and have been and are still such amazing contributors to our community," she said when introducing the guest speakers.
Jo-Anne Bates' career in social work has seen her assist people who have suffered sexual assault. She became a Rotarian later in life. She shared why she decided on a career in social work.
"It came from my heart," she said
"I knew that was what I was supposed to do."
With more than 30 years of experience in the community services sector, based in Horsham as a dedicated advocate for women's rights, social justice, and the empowerment of survivors of Sexual assault and Family Violence.
Jo-Anne has held many leadership roles in her professional life and since her retirement, as well as Rotary is also Chairperson of Headspace Horsham and a committee member for International Women's Day.
Gail Gatt is the CEO of Horsham Rural City Council, and with only a few months in the job in the Wimmera, she talked about her role and how she had settled into the region.
Gail is an experienced public sector Senior Executive and is passionate about leading a high-performing organisation that delivers positive outcomes for the community. She is the first female Chief Executive Officer for HRCC.
She is recognised as being outcome-focused and competent in leading change agendas. Gail is often assigned projects to improve efficiencies, relationships, and outputs across an organisation with a responsive approach to customer service.
She is passionate about regional voices being heard.
Mary Dalgleish also joined the lineup of speakers. She is currently the President of the Rotary Club of Nhill and a Librarian.
After being involved with her family's sporting activities and many community organisations at 40, she decided to turn her part-time job at the Horsham library into a full-time career and undertake the relevant studies. This was primarily brought about due to her passion for books, which was only eclipsed by her love in encouraging others' love of books.
She has continued a career combining her two loves, books and teaching children, and is now working at the Nhill Middle School.
Wendy Hewitt was awarded an OAM in 2025. She is a long-time community leader, Rotarian, and retired teacher from Warracknabeal.
She was born in Warracknabeal but moved to Melbourne to teach. She had travelled the world before returning to the Wimmera, teaching at the Horsham Technical College and the Warracknabeal Secondary College.
She has contributed to the community consistently, is a competent sportswoman, and has held numerous leadership roles in Warracknabeal Rotary and community organisations.