TAKING time out of busy schedules for the occasion, our local ladies celebrated International Women’s Day last Wednesday with empowering activities including health checks and inspirational addresses.
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The local celebrations once again took place in Delegate, with a good crowd of ladies gathering at the School of Arts to kick the morning off with a lovely morning tea.
This was complimented by information stalls and even some massage sessions, while Bombala Council’s Karen Cash gave an update on tourism initiatives in the district.
This chiefly involved an update on the very successful Bundian Way Project and its Gallery, which Karen reported is working well alongside the Borderline Gallery and is actively bringing people to the area.
Karen also reported that the Bombala Caravan Park has increased overnight stays by a staggering 727 compared to last year, and that the tourism staff are busy working on activities for Heritage Week, Easter and Anzac Day.
Perhaps the highlight of Women’s Day this year, however, was the motivational address given by very successful Birdsnest businesswoman, Jane Cay.
Jane proved a very inspirational speaker, talking of her beginnings in business, and taking the group through her journey from this small start to employing over 80 people in the Cooma region.
With Jane’s incredible success encouraging all of those local business ladies present, the first Women’s Day Award was presented, with Louise Cole of the Bombala Post Office being the recipient.
Louise was acknowledged for her contribution to the local business community and for the high level of customer service at the Post Office, with Jane offering her congratulations to a happily surprised Louise.
Next up the group moved onto the Country Club, with a beautiful luncheon being catered by the Hospital Auxiliary for the occasion.
Of course the Women’s Day luncheon would not be complete without another guest speaker, and the gathering was pleased to welcome Heritage Adviser for the district, Suzanne Ploughman.
Suzanne focused on how important heritage actually is in underpinning a community, and also in guiding its development by giving a starting point and background to work from.
She also touched on how important it is to preserve heritage, which can take the form of anything from a historic building to a sculpture – anything that has played an important role in an area’s past.
After Suzanne’s address, our local ladies were treated to further Women’s Day Awards presentations, with the following ladies being recognised -
Laura Chapman for her outstanding contribution to the merino sheep industry in Monaro and further afield, as well as dedication to our local Shows and the Delegate School;
Trudi Joseph for being an inspiring woman of the area through her outstanding efforts to build customer service at Westpac Bombala both personally and through her staff.
Heather Scroope – for her outstanding contribution to the community through the Delegate Hospital Auxiliary, as well as the Delegate and Cabanandra Campdrafts.
Julie Merritt for her efforts to improve community access to the Bombala Library and its important services.
Throw in plenty of conversation and laughter on the day, as well as some lovely prizes and giveaways, and all gave high praise for our local International Women’s Day celebrations once again this year.
The Bombala Council offers its sincere thanks to Westpac Bombala for supporting local Women’s Day in 2013, with no state government funding being available for activities this year.