You will often see Beatrice Williams selling raffle tickets in the main street.
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No matter what the weather – rain, hail, snow or shine – she will take her post and sell tickets to raise money for many varied causes.
![Beatrice holds a photo of her 80th birthday cake which she made for her party. Her friend Reta Beattie decorated the cake. Photo Bronwyn Haynes. Beatrice holds a photo of her 80th birthday cake which she made for her party. Her friend Reta Beattie decorated the cake. Photo Bronwyn Haynes.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/Gx5kCJ366nmumyQY53P3e6/22284fe9-e980-4ec1-9e79-d5cc09e46ae7.jpg/r0_0_2448_3264_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
“People walk up to me and ask, ‘What hat are you wearing today,’ and my answer is always different,” she says.
Beatrice sells tickets for various organisations, with the Cancer Council dear to her heart.
Senior Citizens, St Mary’s School, Laggan Markets, Frail Aged, Biggest Morning Tea, Pink Ribbon Day, The Mary Gilmore Society – and many more. The best she has made any given day is $600.
“It gets me out of the house,” Beatrice told the Gazette.
“I love meeting new people and helping people, and I find selling raffle tickets very rewarding, knowing the proceeds are going to help others.”
Beatrice has many accolades including awards for her cooking. You will find her entries every year at the Crookwell Show in the baking section, whilst she is a steward for the jams and preserves section. She has also had entries for baking and jams in the Sydney Royal Show.
Beatrice, who recently turned 80, grew up on a farm and has lived her whole life in and around Crookwell. She has four children and four grandchildren, who also keep her busy.
She never missed a day of school. After leaving school she learnt to drive an old Land Rover, which she used for transport.
"I worked on the farm and took the children to Crookwell for sports, and to learn to swim,” she said.
Beatrice is an active volunteer for many Binda and Crookwell organisation. She regularly drives people to Goulburn for appointments and take people to the RSL for raffle nights.
In 2013 she was awarded the Burrinjuck Local Citizen of the Year award, travelling to Sydney to receive the award from Katrina Hodgkinson. In 2014 she was awarded Upper Lachlan’s Citizen of the Year.
When asked her most memorable moment, she said it was when local cartoonist Milo “sketched me whilst selling tickets out the front of the IGA”.