May 25th, 2020Coming together to support Clunes’s community
JANE Lesock is semi-retired and she has well and truly earned it.
She and her husband Paul had Mount Beckworth Wines for decades before selling the vineyard, although they kept the cellar door part of the business in the main street of Clunes.
The wine is amazing, but it wasn’t the reason behind why the town voted for Jane to be its Female Citizen of the Year in 2012 – that, along with her other accolades, is because of her incredible years of service to her community.
“You do it to help others,” Jane says.
“I did Meals on Wheels for 14 years. And we also did events, raising funds for local groups and we did Feast on Fraser, because the main street of Clunes is called Fraser St and we had people come along and pay big money and it was all-inclusive and they were waited on.
“And then we turned it into Banquet on Bailey, and over the years it raised well over $30,000 for the footy club, the school, the CFA, the medical centre, different groups in town.”
The year after her town gave her the award, she was named Citizen of the Year for Hepburn Shire in the Australia Day Awards.
One of Jane’s longest standing volunteer commitments has been as the treasurer of the Clunes Tourism Association, a role in which she served for 25 years.
“I was made a life member of that association, the first one in its 44-year history,” Jane said.
Then there’s being on the Buy Local Campaign Committee for Hepburn Shire, coordinating and editing the Clunes Monthly Newsletter for the past nine years, being the inaugural recipient of Outstanding Contribution to Tourism through Hepburn Regional Tourism in 2009 and being recognised with the Ripon Volunteer Award in 2018 for longstanding dedication, hard work and ingenuity for Clunes.
But wait, there’s more. Treasurer for the first Clunes Booktown, and now being volunteer registration coordinator and on the judging panel for the Lions Youth of the Year for six years.
Then throw in employment with the National Bank for 25 years.
Jane is justifiably proud of her achievements, of which there have been many, but sees it more as just part of her duty in supporting her local community.
“I just want to be part of the community. Clunes is very unique the way we support each other and it’s just what you do in a country town, you just come together and it makes you feel good.
“It’s giving back to the community, I think and when you come from a small community, sometimes you’re helping older people that have done their share in the past so they may have done a lot more than a lot of people, especially in Clunes, and so now it’s about time we give back to them.”
“I just want to be part of the community. Clunes is very unique the way we support each other and it’s just what you do in a country town, you just come together and it makes you feel good.”
Words: Kate Taylor | Image: Neil Newitt
(This article is supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.)
