A stalwart supporter of the Pakenham community, Peter Bruce Ronald worked tirelessly to give back to others throughout his 67 years and even now, over 30 years on from his passing, his memory continues to live on.
Although it may have looked a little different to previous years, the P. B. Ronald Memorial Trust were delighted to award five worthy, up-and-coming locals with grants recently to assist them with their agricultural, horticultural and local government endeavours – helping them pave the way to a bright future.
GABRIELLA PAYNE took a moment to chat with these five young rising stars.
For three decades now, the legacy left behind by local icon, Peter Bruce Ronald, has helped change the lives of many ambitious young locals.
A dedicated community member who worked tirelessly to further the agricultural, horticultural and local government sectors in Cardinia, Mr Ronald achieved a great deal throughout his lifetime and through the trust set up in his honour, he continues to invest in our future generations.
Since it’s establishment in 1991, more than 80 people have received over $100,000 in financial assistance from the trust to help them with their studies in these industries – and it was going to take more than a global pandemic to stop it from going ahead this year!
Despite being unable to host their annual awards dinner (due to Covid), the P. B. Ronald Memorial Trust managed to persevere, recognising five local, young stars for their stellar efforts and ambitions.
The chairman of the trust, George Blenkhorn, said that it was wonderful to still be able to support these dedicated students and continue P. B. Ronald’s lasting legacy.
“This year’s five recipients are all very deserving,“ Mr Blenkhorn said.
“The last year has been difficult, but this year we were determined to give out our awards which we have managed to do.“
“That’s the whole purpose of the P. B. Ronald Trust – to give monetary awards to try and assist people with the costs of their tertiary education, giving them a helpful start in life,“ he said.
Mr Blenkhorn said that this year’s recipients – Brett Munckton, Kirsten Birkett, Rachel Zoldak, Jake Sueren and Joshua Maric – covered all three industries that P. B. Ronald worked tirelessly to promote and were incredibly worthy awardees.
“Congratulations to all five of our recipients, and thank you to the trustees for their support and help during the course of this year and last year, because without all the trustees working together, it wouldn’t have been possible,“ he said.
We took a moment to chat with all five students about their hopes and dreams for the future, which you can read below.
Brett Munckton, studying a Masters of Energy Efficient and Sustainable Building, and a current employee of the Cardinia Shire Council.
How does it feel to have been chosen as a recipient?
“It’s fantastic to know that I’ve got that support, not only financially but also the encouragement and support of the community to assist me with what I’m doing at university is really great.“
What is your ultimate career goal?
“At the moment I’m working in local government in sustainable building and I just want to continue my development and career in relation to trying to make buildings more sustainable and to be designed well, built well and performing well and minimising environmental impacts.“
Why do you think programs like this are so important?
“I think that it’s very important to provide encouragement for further education, for people that are willing to put the time in and go through that process. It’s really important that we do things properly and we do things the right way and we have the knowledge to support that, and I think initiatives like this can really help to foster that – especially putting that focus on Cardinia. I think it’s important that we have people with good knowledge in the area to make sure that we’re doing everything as best we can to benefit the community.“
Kirsten Birkett, studying a Certificate III in Sports Turf Management, and a current apprentice greenskeeper at the Deep Creek Golf Club.
How does it feel to have been chosen as a recipient?
“Oh, I’m very lucky. I feel very honoured. Peter Ronald was a great guy to read up on (as I did a bit of background reading when applying), so I feel very, very lucky to be chosen for this award.“
What is your ultimate career goal?
“At the moment, I just hope to finish my studies. In the future, I don’t have a lot on my mind at the moment, I’m just hoping to continue studying and working for now.“
Why do you think programs like this are so important?
“It helps people pursue their studies and helps get them further with things like new equipment like work boots, or a new computer for school (for example), so it helps in many different ways.“
Would you like to see more young people get into the horticulture industry in the future?
“Yeah absolutely. I’m the only ‘lady’ greenskeeper at our course at the moment and I think I’m one of the first ‘lady’ greenskeepers they’ve had – so I’d love to see more women get into it as well.“
Rachel Zoldak, studying a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration, and a current employee of the Cardinia Shire Council.
Why did you apply for this grant?
“Being in lockdown and not being able to do much at the moment, it made me want to continue further study and obviously with taking on that further study, there’s many financial costs with that, so I decided to apply for the grant.“
How does it feel to have been chosen as a recipient?
“It’s really great, I’m really happy. Going through the interview process was a bit daunting as I haven’t done one in a while – but I was very happy to hear that I was accepted, and I’m really appreciative as I wasn’t expecting to be chosen!“
What is your ultimate career goal?
“I’m planning on staying in local government – I’ve been at the Cardinia Shire Council for ten years now, where I worked my way up from a trainee position, so I hope to continue progressing my career there as I enjoy the diversity and the challenges it brings.“
Why do you think programs like this are so important?
“I think one of the main things that puts people off undertaking further education is the financial aspect of it – so if there is room for growth in organisations to help further education, then that’s always a good thing.“
Jake Sueren, studying a Diploma of Agriculture, and currently manages and operates a Lang Lang dairy farm.
Why did you apply for this grant and what will it help you achieve?
“I heard about it because my TAFE teacher suggested I apply for it, so I did and it’s going to help me a lot, because I want to go on and do a Masters of Agriculture as well as some other courses as well, so it’ll help me get to bigger and better things.“
How does it feel to have been chosen as a recipient?
“I feel pretty privileged to be chosen and very glad that I was, because it’s going to help me a lot.“
What is your ultimate career goal/ where do you see yourself in ten years time?
“I’m on a lease farm at the moment, so maybe in five years time I’d like to buy my own farm and in ten years time I hope to have two farms so I can have my old man running the other one, because he’s working on the farm full time at the moment. I’d love to pay him back for all he’s done for me and give him a farm.“
Why do you think programs like this are so important?
“It’s important to promote the agriculture sector and get young people involved in it, because it’s a great industry to be in and a lot of people have a lot of negative views about it – but I don’t think it’s like that! So yeah, it’s good to promote it and get people involved, because you don’t see too many young people in it, but there needs to be so that we have a future.“
Joshua Maric, studying Certificate III in Sports Turf Management, and a current apprentice sports turf manager at the Deep Creek Golf Club.
Why did you apply for this grant?
“I applied for it in the hopes of getting a little financial help for me personally, as a first year apprentice taking on this new apprenticeship, and it’s been great to see all the work that’s been put in in past years to keep this trust going and what it stands for.“
How does it feel to have been chosen as a recipient?
“I’m absolutely thrilled. I’m extremely grateful to be receiving this award and I’m very happy to be in the position that I am.“
What is your ultimate career goal?
“This will help me get my Certificate III and IV in Turf Management which is the first step; and then after that I’ll hopefully find some kind of career advancement down the path, probably in the sports turf industry. I’d like to look more in the sports field industry, and I’ll probably try to reach up as high as I can, so to work at the MCG would be the ultimate goal for me.“
Why do you think programs like this are so important?
“Obviously you need support for the industry. There’s always going to need to be change with people getting older, new people coming in – that’s how it works. So the young people like myself always need to be supported I think, especially with Covid at the moment, everyone is doing it tough so I think it’s really important for that reason.“
The P. B. Ronald Memorial Trust is supported by the Rotary Club of Pakenham, the Cardinia Shire Council, the Pakenham Racing Club and the Pakenham and District Agricultural and Horticultural Society. Congratulations to all of this year’s awardees!
