December 4, 2014
It’s not every day that a teenager from Benair gets to shake the hand of the US President but that’s exactly what happened during the recent G20 in Brisbane.
And almost amazing is the fact that Brooke Lavaring’s membership of the QCWA Young Leaders made the momentous occasion possible.
President Barack Obama delivered a speech at the University of Queensland on November 15 aimed at the young people of Australia.
Top of his agenda was climate change, and he urged his young listeners to keep raising their voices and imagine a new future.
Sitting in the front row while the audience applauded was Brooke, 14, all thanks to the QCWA.
The Country Women’s Association was one of eight community groups entrusted with decorating a letter on the 25m long BRISBANE sign erected at South Bank as part of the G20 cultural celebration held in conjunction with the summit.
The QCWA decorated the “E” and in return they were allowed to nominate 15 young people aged under 30 to attend President Obama’s youth address at Queensland Uni.
Brooke, who is connected to the Kumbia QCWA branch, was surprised when she received an invitation from the State Leader asking if she would like to nominate to attend.
It’s not a simple process to meet the President, even if you’re going to be one of about 2000 people in the auditorium.
Brooke had to go through a screening process ahead of her trip to Brisbane, and then had to provide photo ID and pass through a metal detector to enter the auditorium.
This caused a momentary issue when the alarm sounded … but it was just her QCWA badge!
Brooke made sure that she arrived at Queensland Uni early.
“I was one of the first people in so I got a front row seat which was very good,” she said.
The Year 9 Kingaroy State High School student found herself sitting just 10-15m away as he spoke, and she was very impressed.
“He was down-to-earth; he seemed very level-headed, responsible,” she said.
However, his charisma and style also shone through giving him a “mystical” quality.
“It was a very powerful speech,” Brooke said.
“It was mainly about climate change and current global crises like Russia and Ukraine.
“He told us to remember the younger generation are the ones that are going to grow up and lead the world.”
At the end of his speech, President Obama came down from the stage and walked in front of the barriers to meet some of the audience members.
Because Brooke was in the front row, she was amongst the first to rush up, which is how she managed to shake his hand.
The QCWA Young Leaders take members aged from 6 to 25, and Brooke would recommend it to anyone.
“It’s good to be involved in an organisation, and then something like this happens. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the President,” she said.
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There was definitely a South Burnett flavour to the audience at President Obama’s speech.
As well as Brooke in the front row, fellow QCWA Young Leaders Serenette Crombie (ex-Kingaroy) and Melissa Crawford (ex-Kumbia) were also present, as was Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington.
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From Twitter
. @DebFrecklington meets @BarackObama pic.twitter.com/zGxcV9akn8
— Sarah Vogler (@SarahLVogler) November 15, 2014
