National Volunteers Week - Roy’s Selfless Devotion to Frankston
Published on 19 May 2021
When Roy Giesemann moved to Frankston close to four decades ago, it was love at first sight.
Following a long career which took him and his family all over Australia and the World, Roy settled in Frankston in the early 1980s.
The spectacular beauty of Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula region immediately won Roy over and he hasn’t looked back.
Roy recalled: “We fell in love with Frankston and wanted to contribute to the promotion and development of the tourism industry here.
“I was 75-years-old and starting to wind down from full time work when my wife Marie saw an article in the paper talking about the development of a Visitor Information Centre (VIC) in Frankston.
“I attended the Council meeting in 2006 and the VIC was developed in 2007,” Roy said.
The timing was perfect for Roy, who was looking to promote his passion for the area and wind up his six decade long career.
In 2017, Roy received Frankston City’s Senior Citizen of the Year Award on Australia Day to honour and acknowledge his stellar contribution to tourism development.
North East Ward Cr Suzette Tayler said Frankston City is celebrating and honouring the amazing efforts of our volunteers, including Roy, as part of National Volunteer Week (17 – 23 May).
Cr Tayler said our volunteers including Roy make a remarkable difference in the lives of many residents and visitors across Frankston City.
“All our volunteers do us proud and continually demonstrate the true meaning of community spirit – from Council services such as Meals on Wheels and the Visitor Centre to numerous non-Council services including opportunity shops and not for profit organisations, every day we see volunteers going ‘above and beyond’ to enrich the lives of others, bring people together and improve our social wellbeing,” Cr Tayler said.
Cr Tayler added: “Roy is an incredible ambassador for Frankston, along with our 30 other Visitor Information Centre volunteers. They are integral to the running of the Centre and do a great job assisting visitors and promoting our wonderful City.”
Roy continues to volunteer with the VIC and enjoys the fabulous restaurants and wineries in the region.
“There are 95 vineyards along the Mornington Peninsula, plus the wonderful community spirit of the region, so I couldn’t think of a better place to retire” Roy said.
About 400 volunteers currently help deliver Council services while thousands more assist via a range of other organisations in Frankston City.
Cr Tayler added: “Our community could not run, let alone thrive, without the contribution of volunteers. From supporting the most vulnerable among us to ensuring we all get access to the things that make us who we are such as sport, arts and cultural activities, volunteers are a fundamental element of our society and Frankton wouldn’t be what it is and couldn’t aspire to be what it wants to be without them!”
Anyone interested in volunteering with the Visitor Information Centre or other services supporting the Frankston community can register with Volunteering Frankston. Please visit the Volunteering Frankston page for more information.