KAREN Kretschmann almost didn’t make this edition.
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“I’m not Steve Wollaston, you know. I didn’t do the 2000 Olympics torch run on a beer transfusion; mine is an ordinary story,” she said at the start of this week.
Suddenly, one week loomed as a long, long time in newspaper writing.
No wavering, please, Mrs Kretschmann.
And then she came good, leading from the front foot as she does in her role as president of the Rotary Club of Mount Isa. As only the second female president of the club, Mrs Kretschmann has nothing but praise for the organisation she joined after serving as a volunteer at the internationally acclaimed Mount Isa rodeo.
“This has been one of the best things I have done,’’ Mrs Kretschmann said.
‘‘The club supports local and international communities. Our biggest project is the Mount Isa Rotary Rodeo, which benefits the whole city with the influx of thousands from out of town.
“Recently we partly funded garden beds for the Mount Isa Centre for Rural Health Rehabilitation Unit that will benefit stroke victims from our area.
‘‘We have also supported Buy A Bale campaign with care packs and also assisted with a load of hay to be distributed to the farmers.
“I am honoured to be president of our club this year and hope to create a vibrant club in my term.
“Rotary is life changing, it’s exciting and it’s knowing you are really making a difference.”
Weekends, Mrs Kretschmann cooks “for the less fortunate” at Jangawala.
“I find this a perfect way to give back to our community and you can see the benefit of helping others with very little effort,” she said.
Mrs Kretschmann, who is happy to be considered a “bushie”, hails from the Longreach area, but it was Boulia, in central west Queensland, that initially won her heart.
Mount Isa materialised into her life while working for Shell and making sure it was all going well at country sites.
She made the move to Mount Isa in December 2003 and here she has stayed.
After leaving Shell she joined Rod Madsen’s practice to do conveyancing.
Next, she “took the chance to see the other side of the property market” joining Jays, then took a break and is now with LJ Hooker.
But it’s not all work and no play for the girl who loves the dance floor. That’s how she met husband Kim (a 12-year Rotarian) at a Rock n Roll show at Townies Leagues Club. The Karen and Kim show was sealed with a nuptial kiss on Valentine’s Day, 2009.
“It was described as the best wedding of the year,” Mrs Kretschmann recalls.
“And who am I to argue?”
Like any good Rock n Roll couple, Karen and Kim Kretschmann are still dancing today.
The future for Karen Kretschmann is with her husband, children, grandchildren and touring Australia.
For the moment, the Isa will do very nicely.
“I love my life in Mount Isa. We have lifelong friends. Mount Isa will always hold a special place in our hearts,’’ she said.
‘‘Where else would we have the opportunities and experiences we have had in work and life?”