2022 Seniors Award – Citation
Cathy Roth OAM
Cathy Roth has held senior management positions in diverse industries, including medical, hospitality, major event industries, and in executive mentoring. Cathy’s original tertiary qualifications were in Diagnostic Radiography, and subsequently, in Business and Management. Her numerous leadership roles include having been the first female President of the Geelong Chamber of Commerce and the first female President of a Rotary Club in the ANZO region. She was Governor of Rotary District 9780 in 2004-5.
When Cathy’s husband, John, a general surgeon, was diagnosed with dementia and cut-off from his professional colleagues and career, it became her “next magnificent obsession” (as she described it in the Geelong Advertiser) to establish a support group to ensure that persons from a high-powered work environment, with early stages of dementia, could continue to maintain dignity and respect through active participation and interaction within a socially and intellectually stimulating environment.
With Cathy’s extensive network of contacts and the support of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Dementia Australia, PALZ (Professionals with Alzheimer’s and related diseases) was formed in 2016. There are now PALZ groups in Geelong, Melbourne, Ballarat, Sydney, Canberra, Perth, Bateman’s Bay, shortly in Brisbane, and the UK. Each group is coordinated by a facilitator and meets bi-monthly with a corporate style speaker who has been briefed on the need for multi-sensory inputs and repetition of key points. Each group is autonomous and reports annually to the PALZ Board. Cathy is the National Chairman of PALZ.
Cathy’s community contributions have been acknowledged by the award of the Medal of the Order of Australia, by her selection as a State finalist in the Telstra Businesswoman of the Year awards, and through a number of business and Rotary awards.
Cathy Roth meets all the criteria for the Club’s Service to Seniors Award and is a very worthy winner.
