My name is Rowena Dillon and I stand here, a very proud elected Councillor for the Ward of Pittwater and the Northern Beaches Council. If my parents were alive, they would be so very, very proud. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has worked hard and assisted me to be in this position, including the fantastic Your Northern Beaches Independent team, my fellow candidates, including Judith Charnaud and Ian White, and all elected candidates. I'd like to also acknowledge and thank my volunteers and all the fantastic volunteers. I have so much gratitude for you all for getting me into this position and I will be forever grateful. Sue Heins, our Mayor, wherever you are. I thank you. So, oh, you missed it, I just said thank you. 

So I was born in Newport and lived in Pittwater through to my mid-20s, and I returned to Pittwater eight years ago. I'm the current President of the Newport Chamber of Commerce, and I stand here to be the community voice of many on the Northern Beaches Council, and I look forward to working with council and my fellow Councillors to protect our future and build better communities. 

I think it's fair to share my story of how I got here and why I ran for council. For 22 years, I operated a business that I absolutely loved, Rowie's Cakes, the kitchen that baked wheat, yeast, gluten, and dairy-free. I have three factories in Alexandria, 45 staff. I'm the author of two cookbooks and I used to appear on Studio 10 once a month doing cooking demos and my clients included Qantas, Virgin, Tigerair, David Jones, Woolworths, Thomas Dux, and Harris Farm Markets. 18 months prior to COVID, I bought another shareholder into my business. Without going into the intricate details, I've never had COVID, by the way, but I'm one of those people that lost everything during COVID. 

Post-COVID, I baked for local cafes and delis and made pre-prepared meals. I worked in the now closed Mitch and Mark Home in Newport, and I started to put all of that energy and coaching that I used to have for my staff. I put the energy that I put into my team, I put into the business community of Newport Village. I work with council placemaking and created the Newport Spring into summer celebration, which is now just about in its third year. So, and I then accidentally became the unanimously voted President of the Newport Chamber of Commerce. Bringing the community together. 

I met with Guyren, the President of the Newport Surf Club to talk about community. And I mentioned that I had this crazy idea of serving the community, my beautiful food for lunch on a Sunday, an Ottolenghi-style dining concept where I'd wheel out a bench with a choice of two proteins, a hot vegetable and three salads, plus a rigatoni and cheese for the kids. And of course, one of my beautiful desserts. And then Rowie's by the Sea was born, allowing people in our communities to enjoy the beautiful view of our surf club and to support it. 

I guess it was then that I decided I was meant to be where I am, in our community, building better communities and listening. I've worked with council and state and federal governments at a grassroots level, creating change and better relationships that benefit the community and community engagement. I'm very proud of my contribution to community and also proud of the input and the impact that I had on Dr. Sophie Scamp's determination to create change and action on vape reform. I believe that I can make a difference and be a clear voice in council for our beautiful and unique Northern Beaches. I aim to enhance community services, support local businesses, and protect our Northern Beaches character. 

And last but not least, I'd like to thank all who voted for me. I'd like to thank my beautiful sister Jody, who's flown in from South Australia to be here to tonight, and to my gorgeous cousin Nicholas and his daughter Scarlet, for being here. Family means a lot to us Dillons. So yeah, I'm very proud to have you here listening. I'd also like to thank the Northern Beaches Council staff for looking after us newbies in a whirlwind of the past two weeks. So you're incredible and I feel like I'm part of a team instead of working on my own in isolation. So I'm looking forward to working with everybody. I affirm that I will undertake the duties of the Office of Councillor in the best interest of the people of the Northern Beaches and the Northern Beaches Council. And I thank you also very much for that honour. 

Thank you.