ONE of Millicent’s most prominent women has been honoured for her contribution to the Limestone Coast business sector at a special event held last week.
Wattle Range Council libraries and cultural services manager Janice Nitschke was inducted to the Women in Business and Regional Development hall of fame, sharing the prestigious honour with six of the committee’s other founding members.
Ms Nitschke, along with Liz Ballinger, Nancy Withers, Jan Kentish, Kay Hocking, Maureen Andrews and Helen Stock were inducted at the Women in Business and Regional Development event.
Limestone Coast business operator Di Ind was also announced as a hall of fame recipient.
Ms Nitschke was an inaugural member of the board, which was founded in December 1998 to bring like-minded professional women together in a supportive environment.
“In the beginning they had a representative from every local government area and I was asked to be involved,” she said.
“When I went to my first meeting, I was absolutely in awe of the ladies around that table.
“They were so passionate and they had achieved so much, which was very important to me.
“About that same time, I represented local government on the public library board and with the exception of one other woman, it was filled with men.
“21 years ago, it was a lot more of a man’s world than it is now – executive positions and boards were dominated by men.”
Ms Nitschke spent six years on the board and said successfully receiving a $90,000 grant in the board’s first year of operation was one of the committee’s greatest achievements.
“$90,000 was a lot of money in 1999 and we did a lot of great things to empower women in regional areas,” she said,
“We used the funding to do mentoring, teach women about the internet and general business management across the entire Limestone Coast.
“It was really good to give back to the community and strengthen your own knowledge at the same time.”
Ms Nitschke fondly reflected on her tenure and said being surrounded by professional and supportive women in business was inspiring.
“I thought the ladies on the committee were so much better than I was, but at the same time I added what I knew to the group,” she said.
“Through their support, it gave me the ability to achieve a lot in my career.”
Ms Nitschke has held many board positions throughout her decades of service and boasts a long and impressive list of awards and achievements.
Her services to libraries and innovation were recognised when she received the Australian Library and Information merit award in 1996 and the inaugural Crawford award in 2002.
In 2014, she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for services to libraries and the community.
