Queensland Rural, Regional and Remote Women's Network in Toowoomba, Queensland | Non-profit organisation

Queensland Rural, Regional and Remote Women's Network

Locality: Toowoomba, Queensland

Phone: +61 1300 795 571

Address: PO Box 1568 4350 Toowoomba, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.qrrrwn.org.au

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24.01.2022 INTRODUCING Sarah-Jane McDonald FINALIST ... 2020 QRRRWN Small Business Owner of the Year Sarah-Jane McDonald is a strong advocate of practice in the regions, having practised in the Toowoomba Region for the entirety of her legal career. Sarah-Jane has been admitted in the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court of Australia since 2014, after completing her Bachelor of Law degree at the Toowoomba Campus of the University of Southern Queensland. Currently the Legal Practitioner Director of MacDonald Law (Qld) Pty Ltd, for Sarah-Jane, working with people is the crux of why she has continued to work in the family law sphere since her admission. Boasting a full family law file load, and overseeing a number of other active legal departments within her firm; Sarah-Jane continues to be people focused and results driven. Sarah-Jane has remained actively involved in the local Toowoomba region, currently holding the position of President of the Downs & South Western Qld Law Association, after serving on the committee for a number of years. She has been recognised for her community involvement by being previously awarded the Regional Young Citizen of the Year Award. To Join us for the Online Presentation of the 2020 Strong Women Leadership Awards, register here:- This is a FREE event: https://bit.ly/SWLAFinals2020ticket @McDonald.Law.Toowoomba Toowoomba, Queensland Toowoomba Regional Council University of Southern Queensland - Australia #qrrrwn #SWLA2020 #southwesternqldlawassociation #queenslandwomen

24.01.2022 12th November - QRRRWN Business Interest Group What keeps you awake at night? Let’s talk leadership! At this session, Jo Best will provide a framework to think about leadership & facilitate a discussion to make it specific to our group.... Jo is a Bundaberg girl born & raised with her 3 sisters in the cane growing district. Her husband hails from Rockhampton & they lived & worked in Mount Isa for three years, before returning to Brisbane to continue their careers and raise their family. Jo is an executive manager working at Hastings Deering (Caterpillar) and has more than 20 years' industry experience in several companies including Aurizon, Glencore and Amcor Ltd. Her expertise includes business strategy, commercial performance, transformational change, digitalisation and organisational development. Join us from 7:00pm, Thursday 12th November Register here: https://qrrrwnbizinterest.eventbrite.com

24.01.2022 MEET THE FINALISTS INTRODUCING Maree Franettovich ... FINALIST 2020 QRRRWN Volunteer of the Year Maree is a proud and passionate regional citizen and advocate. Currently she is operating a boutique consultancy providing targeted business support to small and medium enterprises. Maree has enjoyed a career as an educator in the higher education and vocational sectors based in Mackay region. Instrumental in supporting regional students to invest in their career success, she encourages them to take advantage of the opportunities regions provide. An enthusiastic advocate for regional capacity building, Maree has a strong business background and brings this professional acumen to her community leadership roles. She is dedicated to authentic leadership through role modelling professional conduct. Maree’s strategic focus combined with a ‘can do’ approach creates opportunities to influence positive change in her roles. Maree holds a Bachelor of Business (Management and Human Resources) and a Graduate Diploma of Management. She is Deputy Chair and Company Secretary of Sarina and District Community Financial Services Ltd and a Director of Connect Housing Group Mackay. Her professional memberships include the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Institute of Managers and Leaders, and the Queensland Rural, Regional and Remote Women’s Network. To Join us for the Online Presentation of the 2020 Strong Women Leadership Awards, register here:- This is a FREE event: https://bit.ly/SWLAFinals2020ticket #qrrrwn #swla2020 #queenslandwomen Mackay Regional Council Sarina, Queensland Central Queensland University Australian Institute of Company Directors Connect Housing

24.01.2022 MEET THE FINALISTS INTRODUCING Catherine Waldron... FINALIST 2020 QRRRWN Influential Leader of the Year Catherine Waldron has been a teacher for 35 years with the Education Department. She started her teaching career in Walkerston, west of Mackay. She worked as Principal of one, two, three, four and five teacher schools in central Queensland before taking up the position of Deputy Principal in Cloncurry Prep Yr 12. Following her time in the far north-west, she transferred from extreme heat to Principal of Killarney State School Prep Yr 10, a very cold small town on the border of New South Wales. While in Killarney, Catherine met her husband, Michael, and after five years transferred to Corinda in Brisbane, starting work when her son was five months old. After seven years at Corinda, she accepted a promotion to Humpybong State School on the Redcliffe peninsula. Throughout her career, Catherine also studied and worked as a Teacher-Librarian, establishing the library at Charters Towers Distance Education, gained a bus drivers licence, completed her Masters in Education majoring in Leadership and Management, trained and volunteered as a Lifeline telephone counsellor, established Vocational Education and Training opportunities in Cloncurry and supported her community through the 2011 Brisbane floods. She continues to use skills in reflection, review an negotiation learnt during her career, coaching and mentoring others. On a personal level, she has survived swine flu and shingles in the same year and successfully fought breast cancer. Following the sudden death of her ex-husband in 2016, she has been a single parent raising her son and leading her school community. She currently volunteers to feed the homeless and supports the chaplaincy program in her school and on the peninsula. Catherine has invested significant energy in training as a White Ribbon facilitator, and has continued the promotion of non-violence towards women even after the liquidation of the company who launched the program. Her work with both young men an women, and children of both genders, using her skills as a Lifeline counsellor ensures that referrals and education continue long after the events to create awareness are over. Catherine continues to be passionate about supporting an encouraging women in the workplace, ensuring they continue to achieve their potential. #qrrrwn #swla2020 #queenslandwomen #moretonbayregion #educationqueensland Lifeline Whiteribbon Moreton Bay Regional Council

21.01.2022 INTRODUCING .... ANNABELLE BRAYLEY FINALIST - QRRRWN 2020 Storyteller of the Year ... Annabelle Brayley qualified as an RN at the Charleville Base Hospital before she married in 1980 and went to live on her husband’s family property east of Wyandra. Working from their home office, she rejoined the paid workforce in 2000, coordinating care-worker placements in a remote dementia respite service. After selling the property to dissolve a family partnership in 2001, Annabelle and her family relocated to the Morven district. In 2006, she resigned from Blue Care, bought the local news agency and, almost by chance, wrote her first story for OUTBACK Magazine. She has been telling the stories of people who live and work in rural and remote Australia ever since. In 2008, serendipitously, she sold the shop to write her first book, Caging Octopuses- A Tale of the First Decade of Condamine Cods Rugby which was privately published a year later. Four years on, an OUTBACK cover story she wrote about remote health prompted Penguin Books Australia to offer her the opportunity to curate a publication called Bush Nurses. Since then she has written several books: Nurses of the Outback, Outback Vets, Our Vietnam Nurses and Bush Doctors. In 2018, she co-authored the highly popular, independent publication Cattlemen in Pearls. Her passion for recording other people’s stories includes private family histories. She still, occasionally, submits to OUTBACK and is currently thinking about her first novel. Annabelle maintains her interest in rural and remote health as Community Director on the Board of the Australian College of Rural Remote Medicine (ACRRM). To Join us for the Online Presentation of the 2020 Strong Women Leadership Awards, register here:- This is a FREE event: https://bit.ly/SWLAFinals2020ticket R.M.Williams OUTBACK magazine Morven Outback CBD Morven Progress Association Condamine Cods Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) Annabelle Brayley - Australian Outback Storyteller #qrrrwn #swla2020 #storytelling #storyteller2020

20.01.2022 MEET THE FINALISTS INTRODUCING ... Ruth Vicary... FINALIST 2020 QRRRWN Volunteer of the Year A country girl through and through, Ruth Vicary has lived her whole life in small, rural Burnett communities and knows first-hand the value and importance of volunteers in making small communities tick. Raising seven daughters whilst running a beef production property with her husband Andrew and volunteering makes for a full, productive life. Ruth’s love for community has most recently seen her leading the way in developing the Burnett Christmas Pop-Up Shop and the Central Burnett Uniting Church Day Camp. In late 2019, with the view to attract people to the Mundubbera region; showcase unique, homemade and homegrown local products and talents of the North Burnett; and generate additional income for families affected by ongoing drought the Central Burnett Landcare Burnett Christmas Pop-Up Shop was born driven by Ruth and her small team of volunteers. The aims of this project were exceeded with the 2020 event looking to be even more successful. Seeing the need for school aged children to experience bush life and basic family and Christian values, Ruth and Andrew opened their property, home and time to make the Central Burnett Uniting Church Day Camp happen. For 11 years up to 150 children each year have participated in Day Camp and many leaders and volunteers have developed their own skills under Ruth and her team’s mentorship. In 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown Ruth was a driving force in the development of Creative Ladies of the Burnett, a group for women to connect over creative activities and support each other. To Join us for the Online Presentation of the 2020 Strong Women Leadership Awards, register here:- This is a FREE event: https://bit.ly/SWLAFinals2020ticket #qrrrwn #swla2020 #queenslandwomen Burnett Today North Burnett Regional Council The South Burnett Times South Burnett Regional Council Creative Ladies of the Burnett Central Burnett Landcare

20.01.2022 It can be isolating running a business from a RRR area. That is why as part of our membership program we have a business interest group that meets monthly online to discuss different business related topics. Come and join our village of RRR women. ... We work with RRR women to build better futures. Find out more about the membership here https://www.qrrrwn.org.au/membership-benefits/ [Image Credit Olive House Accommodation]

20.01.2022 Don't miss out on being inspired! We are delighted to invite you to our online Awards Presentation for the Strong Women in Leadership Awards on Saturday the 5th of December at 6pm where we will announce the winners of this year's awards. Thank you to Panda Pearls our lead sponsor for the 2020 Awards Program. Keynote speaker, Georgie Somerset OAM ... Master of Ceremonies, Robin McConchie Register here for this FREE event: https://bit.ly/SWLAFinals2020ticket We would also be grateful for your support by purchasing tickets to the online raffle. Thank you to Charlotte's Nest for the raffle prizes. Please email [email protected] with any queries. We look forward to seeing you.

20.01.2022 You’re invited to our Simply Social End of Year Celebration. Your host is Pam Greet. Friday 27 November at 6.30pm via Zoom. BYO wine and cheese, and prepare to sit back and enjoy the company of other members as we join each other for a meet and greet.... Pamela Greet is a ‘tomato baby’ from the Burdekin who lives in the burbs although her heart’s in bush. From South Africa to Haiti, she has worked in many professions including secondary teaching, emergency response, capacity building and stakeholder engagement across agriculture, health, community development, and disaster response. In 2020 she established Future Ag Qld in 2020 to advocate for sustainable producers, to facilitate access to training, skills, support, and to educate consumers. She’s never ridden a horse or a tractor. We’d love to see you, bring your ideas, your ‘glass and a half’, and we look forward to seeing you there! Register here: https://bit.ly/simplysocialnov27

17.01.2022 Really looking forward to connecting with QRRRWN members and supporters on the Coffee Chat tomorrow at 10:30 am. Come along for a sneak peak at 2021 and what we are going to start talking to members about in December! Have you registered: http://bit.ly/coffeechat6nov

15.01.2022 Join the online Roundtable on 18 December 2020 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm to help us design the Member Hubs! Register here: https://bit.ly/hubsrountable18dec The feedback in this survey is so helpful already! Thank you. If you haven't already done so, please fill out the survey to ensure we design what you need. Click this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QRRRWNhubs Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal has provided funding for QRRRWN to establish hubs across Queensland to fac...ilitate connection, member support, local gatherings/events and build community. It's up to us to design them. We did a pilot in 2019 so we are going to pick up from there and move forward with your direction. We need your input! #frrrk

14.01.2022 Join us for our Ag Interest Group - End of Year Celebrations Thursday 19 November 2020 7.00pm via Zoom... Thank you so much to the ladies who joined our first Interest Group within QRRRWN this year. Together, we’ve built a group of amazing women, opened networks for sharing and shared our stories. We’ve hosted some incredible women who gave up their time to share their journeys with us. For me, Stephanie Trethewey from Motherland Australia brought me to tears as she shared the struggle of having and raising children in remote locations. Georgie Somerset made me proud to think we have strong intelligent women raising awareness of issues facing RRR women. Who was your favourite speaker? Join us to celebrate the year that was as we wind down for 2020 in an informal chat via zoom to discuss some exciting plans for next year. Bring a cuppa or a glass of wine and your ideas, we’d love to see you there! Register here for the Ag Interest Group End of Year Celebration. http://bit.ly/AgGroupNov2020 Join QRRRWN here: https://www.qrrrwn.org.au/membership/ We are building a network of women in RRR. Join our Member Directory here: https://www.qrrrwn.org.au/directory/ Your sincerely, Julie Mayne Ag Interest Group Lead

11.01.2022 Don't miss out, join us tonight for our End of Year Simply Social - online event. Register here: https://bit.ly/simplysocialnov27 You’re invited to our Simply Social End of Year Celebration. Your host is Pam Greet. Friday 27 November at 6.30pm via Zoom.... BYO wine and cheese, and prepare to sit back and enjoy the company of other members as we join each other for a meet and greet. Pamela Greet is a ‘tomato baby’ from the Burdekin who lives in the burbs although her heart’s in bush. From South Africa to Haiti, she has worked in many professions including secondary teaching, emergency response, capacity building and stakeholder engagement across agriculture, health, community development, and disaster response. In 2020 she established Future Ag Qld in 2020 to advocate for sustainable producers, to facilitate access to training, skills, support, and to educate consumers. She’s never ridden a horse or a tractor. We’d love to see you, bring your ideas, your ‘glass and a half’, and we look forward to seeing you there! Register here: https://bit.ly/simplysocialnov27 See more

09.01.2022 We are preparing to announce the Winners in the 2020 Strong Women Leadership Awards on December 5th. Over the next week, we will introduce you to this year's Strong Women Leadership Award Finalists. They are all extraordinary, and we know you will be excite to hear about the work they are doing across RRR areas in Queensland. A big thank you to PandaPearls Australia Pty Ltd for again providing wonderful support and prize sponsorship of our program.... To join us for for the announcement of Award winners.... Register here for this FREE event: https://bit.ly/SWLAFinals2020ticket #swla2020 #ConnectDevelopInspire #QRRRWN #queenslandwomen

09.01.2022 Introducing KATRINA HOUGHTON FINALIST 2020 QRRRWN Small Business Owner of the Year... In 2018, Katrina’s world fell apart. She was diagnosed with HER2+ breast cancer at just 37. She had 3 cancerous lesions in my right breast and received a PET scan and found that the cancer had also travelled to a couple of lymph nodes. She could not believe it. She is a non-smoker, an avid sportsperson (having played Junior hockey for Australia) and only drank occasionally. Katrina immediately put her full time job as an economist on hold and started her Cancer management journey. She underwent 16 rounds of chemo, double mastectomy, 25 rounds of radiation, and 18 weeks of herceptin. During her cancer journey she decided it was really important to use her skills to help those who she calls her fellow cancer warriors. She started the Know Your Knockers Breast Cancer Pocket Guide, which provides lots of content and information on products and services available for patients. There is a guide specific to Regional Queensland. She encourages you all to download a copy from www.knowyourknockers.com. Katrina also started to design and manufacture my own range of pocketed fashion and is absolutely loving it! She loves producing Australian made products to showcase our talents all over the world. She has sourced a local designer and both Brenda and herself are so determined to ensure they deliver amazing products to all of the beautiful women that have been touched by this disease! To Join us for the Online Presentation of the 2020 Strong Women Leadership Awards, register here:- This is a FREE event: https://bit.ly/SWLAFinals2020ticket Cancer Council Queensland Know Your Knockers

08.01.2022 A reminder that the Rising Beyond Now webinar series recordings are available on the website. We'd love to know what your biggest take away from this series was! https://www.qrrrwn.org.au/rising-beyond-now/

08.01.2022 Generous sponsors and volunteers are what make QRRRWN strong. Thank you Panda Pearls and Amanda Stein. You have generously supported us over the years and many QRRRWN women have wonderful tales about their purchases of Pearls and other beautiful gifts. NOW is the perfect time of year to check out the gift packs, beautiful pearls and other timeless pieces available from Amanda Stein for Christmas presents. ... Call (07) 3256 8418, email [email protected] or browse the catalogue here: https://bit.ly/pandapearlscatalog Christmas gift packs available and sent anywhere you need it to go! The customer service is first class and tailored to your needs. Amanda will find something special for you, or the special person in your life. #pandapearls

07.01.2022 As we start preparing for our Annual Conference we have been reflecting on the wonderful week that was Ladies in Beef. Revisit all the action! Just a snippet of what happened! You can catch many of these panels and presentations on our Facebook page under 'Video' as we live-streamed a number of session. https://www.facebook.com/qrrrwn. ... P.S. have you read about this years Annual Conference being held October 22nd - 24th in Dalby. Read about it here https://www.qrrrwn.org.au/dalby-hosts-queenslands-rural-re/

06.01.2022 INTRODUCING .... JACQUELINE CURLEY FINALIST - 2020 QRRRWN Inspirational Woman of the Year FINALIST - 2020 Influential Leader of the Year... Jacqueline is a Co-owner and Director of Gipsy Plains Brahmans Cattle Stud, Cloncurry, North West Queensland, with her husband Robert, and son Clayton. Her daughter Natalie is also involved in the rural industry at Avington Station in the Blackall area. Jacqueline was raised on a sheep and cattle property Cotswold in the Cloncurry area, now owned by son Clayton, and she has been involved in family businesses producing high quality cattle for Australia’s beef industry over her entire career. Also a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers, she captures elements of the Australian outback in series of works conceived by her fierce love for the land and a passion for the Beef Industry. Many of her images feature people at work in the bush, allowing the public to view a different side of rural life. Jacqueline’s photographic work came to the mainstream recently following the 2019 monsoonal event in North West Queensland. By capturing the horrific devastation caused following the disaster, the plight of those of the land was given visual representation. Work which was awarded recognition both nationally and internationally as part of the Graziher Magazine Group winning the Rural Journalism category of the 2019 Queensland Clarion Award, as a finalist and overall winner of the Photography Category for the 2019 Qld Rural Media Awards, and Runner up in the 2020 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists awards in Denmark. Jacqueline Curley Photography Cloncurry Shire Council #SWLA2020 #ConnectDevelopInspire #QRRRWN #queenslandwomen #PandaPearls

06.01.2022 Tricia Agar FINALIST 2020 QRRRWN Small Business Owner of the Year Tricia Agar is a 6th generation grazier who lives with her family on their sheep and cattle property west of Wyandra in SW Queensland. Tricia spent her formative years on a cattle station north of Hughenden, then moved with her family to Mt Isa, and then onto Gowrie Charleville in SW Queensland. These diverse experiences have helped shape Tricia’s love for the bush and her people.... Tricia is very proud of our nations bush heritage and is passionate about communicating how essential a vibrant and strong agricultural sector is to the health of our nation, and takes every opportunity to share this with people. Tricia has spent many years using social media and print to raise awareness and advocate for rural and regional issues, as well as being an opinion columnist for the Rural Weekly for 5 and half years. Through her shop The Bush Store which she runs in conjunction with 2 daughters, Tricia has been able to take the message about agriculture and our bush heritage to a wider audience. Tricia is also very passionate about supporting Australian manufacturing and The Bush Store is also a retail outlet for an exceptional Australian business that manufactures leather handbags. Tricia Agar has resided with her family at Barbara Plains since 2001, where they grow wool from their merino flock as well as beef cattle. Tricia is also a self-taught photographer who takes great delight in recording what is happening around her on the family property - the good, the bad and the ugly and using some of these images to help bridge the cultural divide that separate rural Australia from our urban population, mostly through social media. Tricia also is the founder of the popular Face Book page Bush Kids where nearly 48,000 people that follow this page that celebrates our Australian bush life. To Join us for the Online Presentation of the 2020 Strong Women Leadership Awards, register here:- This is a FREE event: https://bit.ly/SWLAFinals2020ticket #qrrrwn #swla2020 #queenslandwomen #bushkids Bush Kids The Bush Store Buy From the Bush QLD Murweh Shire Council Wyandra, Queensland

06.01.2022 INTROUCING Carmel Riethmuller FINALIST 2020 QRRRWN Influential Leader of the Year Carmel is the Chief Executive Officer of Chameleon Housing, an accommodation and welfare organisation located on the Redcliffe Peninsula. After spending three decades working in government (Corrections, Youth Justice and Child Safety), Carmel left to take up a role in the not for profit sector and has been steering Chameleon Housing for over 10 years. ... Working with young people and families, especially those who are marginalised, homeless or at risk of homelessness is Carmel’s passion and a natural extension to the many years working with children at risk. In addition to her role as CEO of Chameleon Housing Carmel is also the Independent Chair of 2 Headspace centres. Carmel holds a Master of Social Work and Master of Counselling. In her role as a CEO of a Not for Profit, Carmel is engaging stakeholders, community groups and businesses every day. She is heavily involved in Interagency, Drug Action Team, Place Base Response Team for those sleeping rough and works with her networks to reduce the risk of homelessness. #QRRRWN #swla2020 #queenslandwomen #moretonbayregion Chameleon House Moreton District Neighbourhood Watch Redcliffe Peninsula Qld headspace Redcliffe

06.01.2022 QRRRWN is in support of Domestic and Family Violence prevention month 2021. Help is available for people affected by domestic and family violence online, over the phone or in person. Find support options at www.qld.gov.au/knowdfv. In an emergency, call Triple Zero (000) and ask for the Police.

05.01.2022 Happy Birthday Queensland!! We are proud to be representing the RRR women across this wonderful state and help them to build better futures. What makes you proud to be a Queensland? ... #queenslandday #queensland #qrrrwn

03.01.2022 QRRRWN Book Group Saturday December 5 at 9:30 am The Godmothers is the highly anticipated new family drama from one of Australia's most beloved authors, Monica McInerney... Eliza Miller grew up in Australia as the only daughter of a troubled young mother, but with the constant support of two watchful godmothers, Olivia and Maxie. Despite her tricky childhood, she always felt loved and secure. Until, just before her eighteenth birthday, a tragic event changed her life. Thirteen years on, Eliza is deliberately living as safely as possible, avoiding close relationships and devoting herself to her job. Out of the blue, an enticing invitation from one of her godmothers prompts a leap into the unknown. Within a fortnight, Eliza finds herself in the middle of a complicated family in Edinburgh. There’s no such thing as an ordinary day any more. Yet, amidst the chaos, Eliza begins to blossom. She finds herself not only hopeful about the future, but ready to explore her past, including the biggest mystery of all who is her father? Set in Australia, Scotland, Ireland and England, THE GODMOTHERS is a great big hug of a book that will fill your heart to bursting. It is a moving and perceptive story about love, lies, hope and sorrow, about the families we are born into and the families we make for ourselves. Register here to join us for the monthly book group chat https://bit.ly/decbookgroup #QRRRWN #connectdevelopinspire

03.01.2022 Don’t miss this at 6:00 PM tonight! Join Us for QRRRWN Simply Social We are delighted to invite you to our monthly simply social online event where RRR women can simply connect online on the last Friday of each month. Bring a coffee or glass of your favourite bubbly!... Register here https://us02web.zoom.us//tZcsf--rqDkpE92tlnXLiVY4C30mxaTHB You will receive a reminder email prior to the event. Your host is the wonderful Julie Mayne. If you want to try out QRRRWN, come along for this meet and greet. We would love to see you! View our Webinar T&C https://www.qrrrwn.org.au//Webinar-Terms-and-Conditions.pdf

03.01.2022 We are delighted to invite you to our online Awards Presentation for the Strong Women in Leadership Awards on Saturday the 5th of December at 6pm where we will announce the winners of this year's awards. Thank you to Panda Pearls our lead sponsor for the 2020 Awards Program. Keynote speaker, Georgie Somerset OAM Master of Ceremonies, Robin McConchie... Register here for this FREE event: https://bit.ly/SWLAFinals2020ticket We would also be grateful for your support by purchasing tickets to the online raffle. Thank you to Charlotte's Nest for the raffle prizes. Please email [email protected] with any queries. We look forward to seeing you.

03.01.2022 ** Coffee chat starting soon at 10:30 am. Come along for a sneak peak at 2021 and what we are going to start talking to members about in December! Register here: http://bit.ly/coffeechat6nov

01.01.2022 MEET THE FINALISTS INTRODUCING .... Melissa Hopkins... FINALIST 2020 QRRRWN Volunteer of the Year. Melissa Hopkins is community driven, focused on problem-solving providing initiative. She capably juggles the pressures of maintaining a rural operation whilst positioning Taroom and the Banana shire as an attractive Queensland tourism destination. Her drive an leadership have seen great outcomes for the region. Open to new ideas and insightful to opportunities as they arise, Melissa is a people person and participative team player. She has held numerous voluntary positions in Netball Associations, Agricultural Show, Kindergarten and P&C Committees, Jockey Club and Bore, Beef and Small Business groups in Taroom and Wandoan and surrounding region over the past 19 years. Whether painting the local Kindergarten Cubby House, making 150 Pizzas for a school fundraiser, dressing up as a Horse at the local Race Meeting, selling raffle tickets or working bars and preparing food, she believes that in volunteering you give and receive simultaneously. Known in her community as a quiet achiever, she is known for her passion for improving rural regional livability. Her capacity to communicate with all people, to mediate change and deliver results are obvious in her volunteer work and paid work alike. To Join us for the Online Presentation of the 2020 Strong Women Leadership Awards, register here:- This is a FREE event: https://bit.ly/SWLAFinals2020ticket #qrrrwn #swla2020 #queenslandwomen Taroom, Queensland Banana Shire Council VISIT Taroom Wandoan, Queensland Wandoan Show Wandoan Gun Club