Three-month casual vacancy to club director, Hannah Rossi breaks the mould

She soon realised her unique perspective and previous experience would benefit with a more permanent seat at the table, and became club director at Merimbula RSL at age 32 in 2017.

"I decided to stand for election by the members where I secured my first two-year term," Ms Rossi said, a role which helped break the traditional mould, though in doing so provided an element of anxiousness.

"It wasn't that I didn't think I had anything to offer, it was more of a fear of not being understood or the misconception that my strategies or ideas might not align with the direction of the board.

"I could see the skill set that the existing board had and hoped the skills that I would look to bring on board would be different but would potentially complement the rest of the team."

She had been attending the club for years, her husband and father-in-law were life members of the Merimbula Diggers ARFC which made the RSL a family get together spot, and having previously worked at Coca-Cola, she frequented the club as a business development manager.

Hoping to inspire others who may want to join and were a little hesitant, she said board positions were for everyone and should represent the community you work in. She recommended people attend AGMs to learn how the clubs run, and to ask questions of those who have served for longer.

"I didn't realise until I started to get involved that even though there is an unlimited amount of work that you can do as a board member, it is also really easy to balance," she said.

"I've got a two-year-old, I've got a full-time job. However, I still manage to balance my club commitments around the rest of my life."

Evident of this, Ms Rossi won the award for outstanding business leader in Business NSW's awards in 2023, for her role as manager of the Commonwealth Bank in Bega.