At the age of 16 Karen was awarded the Queens Guide Award. This is the peak achievement award for youth Guide members and provides an opportunity for extraordinary personal development and greater self-awareness.

Karen has spent countless hours on committees and admits she has a problem with the word NO and is often heard to say 'you just get in and do it, don't you!' She has contributed to many sporting clubs including junior and senior levels of squash, basketball and rugby league. She has served on the Management committees of Shalstone Court and Tenterfield Care Centre. For the past 20 years she has been an active member of Rotary Club of Tenterfield and a respected member of the Tenterfield Business Community for over 26 years.

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Karen starting playing Junior Basketball around 1970. Immediately she realised it took a lot of helpers to make her weekly game happen and was quick to lend a hand where necessary. This is where her passion for helping others really took hold. It wasn't long before she moved onto playing in the senior ranks and nominating to go on the committee. In 1980 she took on the role of Treasurer, a position she held for 14 years. She obtained her NSW Referees badge in 1980 and NSW Basketball Certificate of Coaching in 1998. Karen continued to coach and referee Junior Basketball well into the early 2000's.

While Karen was a committee member the Basketball Association teamed up with Tenterfield Apex Club and jointly hosted 5 Apex Basketball Balls as fundraisers and the association also held 15 major basketball carnivals. Some of these carnivals hosted 50+ teams which was a logistical nightmare made look easy as Karen and others worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure everything went smoothly. The many pre-carnival meetings which ran long into the night organising draws, referees, food and the all important Saturday night social gathering became all consuming. However Karen is quick to say it was all worth it. The economical boost from these carnivals and the friendships made quickly erase the memory of hard work and tired bodies.

The Memorial Hall committee was a community committee committed to raising funds to add an all-purpose hall encompassing a full size basketball court behind the existing Tenterfield and District Soldiers Memorial. The hall, as we know it today, was completed in late 1979. Community members including Karen painted the whole complex interior. A few years after the hall became operational Karen joined the committee and volunteered her time and expertise to assist manage the facility. With the introduction of GST in 2000 the decision was taken to hand the hall over to Tenterfield Shire Council as a community asset.

Karen married Charlie Tapscott in April, 1990 and they established a new business in High Street known as Tenterfield Insurance. Charlie and Karen welcomed their daughter, Tara in 1991. After Charlie's untimely passing in 1993 Karen undertook to continue the business. A short time later the business moved to premises in Rouse Street. Although still primarily an insurance business Karen has embraced change and diversified her business. Tenterfield Insurance is also an agency for several different Government Departments including Department of Human Services (Centrelink), and ticketing agent for NSW Trains (Countrylink). In this agency role Karen shines. People from all walks of life and circumstances come through her door for assistance. The office has all the technology and most government departments are meant to be self service and faceless. In the Tenterfield agency Karen goes above and beyond to assist everyone to get the best result from their enquiry. She has a calmness that relaxes her clients, many of whom are often experiencing very stressful situations. Karen doesn't think she does anything special, with her quirky little smile she simply says 'it is my job and I want to do it well'

Karen very generously avails her office to various community organisations by taking event bookings and enquiries. This gesture takes valuable time away from the core business but Karen happily gives that extra time to help the community.

In 1999 Karen was invited to join the Rotary Club of Tenterfield. At the time she thought it was an odd invitation for a female but after some convincing decided to go along and see what it was all about. Obviously she was impressed because 20 years on she is still a valued active member of the local Club and was the third female to be elected to the Tenterfield Club. Karen is a Past President and a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellowship, with the Double Sapphire Pin, one of the highest awards in Rotary recognising a person whose life demonstrates a shared purpose with the objectives and mission of The Rotary Foundation and. She has held the positions of Secretary and Treasurer. Her financial efficiency has seen her re-elected to Treasurer for many stints throughout her 20 years as a Rotarian. Karen began her working career at the Rural Bank in Tenterfield and the financial management skills learnt early have served her well.

In her role as a Rotarian Karen continues to contribute so much to the community. Not one to shy away from hard work she does however prefer undertaking tasks behind the scenes. Besides their regular service projects Tenterfield Rotary host many large community events including Food and Wine Fairs, Trivia nights, Christmas Carnivals and the bi-annual Bavarian Music Festival and Beerfest. Karen is heavily involved in events organisation and really enjoys the pre-event planning out of the limelight. She will be the one quietly ticking the boxes and calmly smoothing over any mishaps.

Talking about Oracles theme for 2020, 'Behind the Scenes' Karen laughed saying it was really appropriate for her. She told how she struggled through her year as President of the Club. She experienced extreme nerves every meeting at the thought of just sitting in the Presidents chair and being in the limelight let alone having to speak publicly whilst representing Rotary. It was a year of confidence building and learning new skills which she embraced doing the best job she could.

When asked how she first became involved in the community and why she gives so much of her life to others Karen was a little hesitant to answer. She explained that her first committee involvement was a social club at school. She recalled this club was similar to a junior service club. She found working as a group towards a common goal and helping others was extremely satisfying. After leaving school it was a natural progression to be involved and work for the community good. She enjoys sharing her skills with others and the companionship and support network of like-minded people

Karen sees her involvement with community organisations, particularly Rotary as an opportunity to give back to her hometown and pay forward the many kindnesses she and her family has received over the years.

Karen Tapscott is genuine, selfless, kind and a true Legend!