KEN Rook’s family and friends know not to make family appointments for Tuesday nights. It’s not because Ken refuses to go out on Tuesday nights and it’s certainly not because he hates company. Every Tuesday night at 6pm, Ken will be at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Pakenham without fail.
“Tuesday night is Rotary night and that’s it,” Ken said.
“If I don’t go to Rotary on Tuesday night I feel like I’ve missed something.”
He has had a near perfect attendance record, which stayed at 100 per cent for a good 15 years, though due to the travel bug he caught a few years ago his attendance has been down slightly.
It’s an interesting comparison, since when he was first asked to join Rotary, the well-known former real estate agent Ken said he had doubts whether he could maintain the compulsory 60 per cent attendance record.
He quickly found a solution.
“I just put it in my diary, so when I get a new diary for the year I’d just write right through it – six o’clock every Tuesday night was Rotary,” Ken said.
“That took a little while, but I found by doing that, if I was looking at my diary to make appointments and things, that time wasn’t available.”
It wasn’t long before Ken had no trouble keeping up with meetings, and just over five years after he joined he was asked to take the role of president, in 1991.
“That surprised me, I felt that I was still pretty green but I said OK and I still think my president’s year was one of the best years I had in rotary,” he said.
“I’ve held a number of positions a few times – I’ve been secretary three times, I’ve done the bulletin twice, I’ve been sergeant a couple of times and I’ve been chairman of all sorts of committees.”
To recognise the effort he put in as president, Ken was presented with a Paul Harris Fellowship, which equated to a contribution of US$1000 to The Rotary Foundation.
Though the award didn’t come as a surprise, as all serving presidents receive a Paul Harris Fellow at the end of their presidential year, the Paul Harris sapphire pin he received about four years ago did.
“When I got the sapphire pin, I had no idea. No idea at all,” Ken said.
“It was at a Rotary meeting with partners. They called me up, I turned around and all my kids were sitting at the table – I didn’t even know they were coming.
“I got a bigger thrill out of that because that’s an acknowledgement by your peers that they appreciate what you’ve done and that makes it so important.”
Ken was inspired by Rotary, what Rotary did and how members were always so quick to help.
It is also part of the reason that he has remained with Rotary to this day.
“The club’s done marvellous things around town, things like the Senior Citizens club, meals on wheels and the historical society,” he said.
“It’s really the work of Rotary that got them going and that’s why it’s so important. A town without a Rotary club is not a town.
“In Rotary, you’ve got 50 members and whenever something happens there are always 40 people there, it’s so easy to get people to do things.
“One night at Rotary I needed somebody to do something, I asked and within two seconds I had two hands up and that’s what Rotary is, everybody is there for the same reason – they enjoy what they’re doing and see the value and the purpose and they’re prepared to put in.
“That’s one of the real things with Rotary that I appreciate. It makes me proud.”
During his earlier years, Ken was also an active Scout and Scout leader, having been in Scouts since the age of 11.
“I stayed involved with the district association as their badge secretary for quite a while and when my son Teague joined the Cubs when he was eight years old, I went back as a Cub leader,” he said.
He filled the role of district commissioner in 1985 for three years, looking after the Toomuc district which took in Beaconsfield, Nar Nar Goon, Pakenham and Officer. Ken was then appointed regional commissioner, which encompassed the entire eastern region, from Ferntree Gully to Tooradin. He did that job for seven years before resigning due to increasing workloads.
“We weighed it all up – my wife Marcia was in Inner Wheel and we were doing a lot more together in Rotary so I thought Scouting had to go,” Ken said.
“Even though it had been a good part of my life for a long time, I came to the conclusion that time was up and I resigned.
“My involvement with Scouting stopped and even though I’d been encouraging others to be involved, the timing was right, I’d done my bit and it had been a fabulous time of my life.”
Ken also did about 20 years of service with the Toomuc fire brigade as a volunteer, holding various positions including lieutenant, secretary and communications officer and he was also involved in tennis clubs and more recently golf.
Finding time for all his activities and engagements has never been an issue for Ken.
“The more involved, the more interested and the more passionate you become about something, the more time you’ve got available to do it,” Ken said.
“Time is what you make it. When people say they don’t have time for something, it’s because they don’t want to make time for it.”
No matter where he goes, Ken said family and the people around him would always remain the most important thing in his life.
“I’ve always had good family and good friends and that’s probably the most important thing,” he said.
He and wife Marcia have been happily married for 43 years and have three adult children, 42-year-old Kammi, 40-year-old Teague and 35-year-old Courtney, who all live locally.
“I’ve also got six grandchildren, three pink ones and three blue ones,” Ken smiled.
“They’re all good kids and they all live in Pakenham so we see them fairly frequently.
“When you look back over all these things that you’ve done the most important thing is your family. That’s what makes life.”
Although he adores his grandchildren and loves spending time with each and every one of them, Ken joked that even he had his limits.
“They’re just fun to have around, for a short period. Even Lawson, who’s 18 months old, you can’t help but enjoy his company,” Ken said.
“I just sit on the chair and have a chat to him and he giggles and carries on and squeals, it’s fun and it makes you feel younger.
“Then you give him back to his mother when he starts to get grumpy and definitely when he poops. You’ve got to draw the line somewhere!”
Ken said he is enjoying life and making the most of it. While he has had a hand in many things in the community, he remains humble.
“I haven’t achieved anything of great note, but in my own little world, I’m quite content with the life I’ve had,” Ken said.
“But I’m not that hard to please either!”
