Kathy Stocks

Meet Kathy Stocks, the heart and soul of RACT for 30 years. Kathy started at an integral time for RACT in 1985, just as the organisation moved into insurance in partnership with NRMA. Through her time, she embodied what an RACT employee should be with her caring nature and member focus through everything she did.

RACT has always been a shoulder to lean on for the Tasmanian community, which Kathy confirms, stating just how important the organisation was to the community and to staff.

“Staff had great pride in wearing their uniform, they would often come back from lunchand couldn’t believe the types of questions people would stop them in the street and ask, now you would Google and try and find the answer, then you asked RACT," she says.

Starting as a cashier and going on to become Southern Branch Manager, Kathy remembers just how diverse the role was, from selling travel packages one minute, to answering insurance inquiries the next. As staff bounced from customer to customer handling all sorts of different RACT products, staff needed to rely on each other a lot, which formed close bonds between them. Kathy says she still catches up regularly with past colleagues.

“It was never a 9-5 job, you were there on weekends, and you were there when the community needed you, so you made yourself available, and all staff participated in that."

In those days not much was digital, Kathy says everything was written down or typed out on a typewriter. Kathy even remembers when RACT brought in two computers for the entire business. Staff were allotted 20 minutes a day to practice, and it was quite some years before everyone had one at their desk.

Over time RACT recognised that the public’s growing thirst for knowledge was an opportunity to seek a proactive approach to community engagement. As a result, Kathy was hired as the new Community and Education Manager, with her wealth of knowledge, kindness, and approachable nature Kathy was the perfect choice. It was through her efforts that RACT's community programs were born.

“First, we got into the classrooms of the youngest children we could, being kindergarteners, we took along a big Elmo and just started teaching the basics of road safety.” Kathy explains.

As the programs grew in popularity, Kathy started to get into the classes of older age groups to continue the education pathway.

Kathy remembers, “it was important we tried to get parents involved, as we were really trying to lower the statistic of young people being involved in an accident in their first two years. We then moved towards more elderly aged students, asking things like; is it time to give up your license? And, can you still drive at night?”.

Kathy’s role didn’t just stop with education but also involved advocacy on behalf of RACT members.

“If the community had questions that they wanted to ask, or if they were concerned about a certain road safety issue in their area, we would go to the government on their behalf and raise those issues."

As RACT continued to evolve, they expanded their influence in the community by identifying opportunities for sponsorships and support. Kathy became a key figure in developing the RACT Community Fund, which was set up to give funding to applicants seeking to support their community. The program gave money to causes, such as; people fundraising for charity, providing kitchen goods to community centres, and helping the homeless.

Kathy’s 30 years of service to RACT and her commitment to the Tasmanian community is faultless. Over the years Kathy has been a shining example of what an RACT employee should be; helpful, selfless, a go-to for advice and a tremendous community representative. Kathy Stocks set the standard, and her work laid the foundation for much of what RACT does today.