Rural and regional women who have excelled in making their communities better places to live and work are set to be celebrated with the launch of the Shine Awards, a six-year partnership between rural and regional newspaper, The Weekly Times, and Harvey Norman.
Readers are being asked to share their stories and nominate the unsung leaders and innovators whose achievements and contributions make a real and lasting difference to their communities across regional and rural Australia.
Penny Fowler, Herald and Weekly Times chairman and News Corp Australia community ambassador said: “Without exaggeration the women celebrated in the Shine Awards are the lifeblood of their rural and regional communities. It is so important for all of Australia to hear their incredible stories which demonstrate selflessness, resilience and a spirit that is utterly indomitable.
“News Corp Australia is so honored to share these womens’ stories with our audiences and to have done so in partnership with Katie Page and Harvey Norman for the past six amazing years. Together we have celebrated and recounted literally hundreds and hundreds of these womens’ stories.”
Harvey Norman chief executive Katie Page said: “Shine is no longer a concept, it is a fantastic, vibrant community. If you know a rural woman who deserves to be part of this amazing community, show your appreciation by nominating them for the 2022 Shine Awards.”
The three-month campaign will be supported with digital and print advertisements across The Weekly Times, The Mercury, NT News, The Townsville Bulletin and The Toowoomba Chronicle and stories in digital, social and print highlighting the outstanding work women have performed on and off the land, in sporting clubs,businesses, schools, homes and community groups.
The awards will culminate with a special 32-page Shine magazine in The Weekly Times on November 23, sharing stories of all the category finalists and announcing the six category winners, Youth award winner and overall winner.
Each category winner and the Youth award winner will be awarded a $2500 voucher from Harvey Norman. The overall Shine winner will be awarded $5000.
Last year’s overall winner, Victorian entrepreneur Tamsin Carvan, was honoured for her boosting fortunes of local producers in her South Gippsland region.
Tamsin launched a retail and hospitality business called The Borough Dept. Store, renovating a historic building in the heart of Korumburra to entice tourists to stop in the town. She made the venture a success despite the unexpected death of her partner and pandemic lockdowns, which were a huge challenge for the regional hospitality sector.
She said taking part in the awards was an incredible experience.
“Being involved in the Shine Awards was a beautiful experience in every way,” Tamsin said. “The connections and energy that we can conjure up as women in our regions is the thing to hold on to, and where, no matter what else happens, strength and optimism live.”
The Shine Awards honours women in six categories: Belief, Courage, Dedication, Grace, Passion and Spirit.
A special Youth award was added to the campaign last year, to honour a nominee under the age of 30 who shows great potential to become a leader in her rural community or industry.
Queensland beef farmers Bonnie, Molly, Jemima and Matilda Penfold (pictured) won the inaugural Youth award.
The sisters and their parents run a 150-day, grain-fed Angus beef operation on Queensland’s Western Downs. They launched their own brand, Four Daughters, three years ago intending to supply premium beef to Wuhan. The business lost its export market overnight in 2020 when China banned Australian abattoirs. The girls thought on their feet, and drummed up domestic demand for their premium beef, delivering meat boxes directly to consumers.
