December 18, 2019
The Red Earth Community Foundation has spread its wings beyond the South Burnett over the past 12 months, embracing the Central and North Burnett regions.
The philanthropic organisation held its annual general meeting, dubbed the “Red Report”, over breakfast in Kingaroy on Wednesday morning.
The diners were told that new Board members had been enlisted from Monto and Theodore to reflect this greater coverage.
Participants from the greater Burnett area had also taken part in the organisation’s successful annual Community Leadership Program at the Bunya Mountains.
Board members mingled with past and future participants of the Leadership Program before sitting down to a hot breakfast.
Red Earth chair Georgie Somerset – still on crutches after a recent farming accident – said it had been incredibly exciting to watch the growth of the Community Leadership Program, and its network of alumni, over the years.
She said these networks were “the threads that bind us”, building strength in the region.
Highlights over the past year for Red Earth also included the “Red Pitch” crowdfunding event, which raised money for worthwhile local projects.
Andrew Maddern and Emma Leu-Marshall, from the South Burnett Community Orchestra, said the funding the SBCO had received enabled it to put on six workshops to help create a “young orchestra” for the region.
“It was an amazing success,” Emma said. “We have 50 new members and we are planning to continue the young orchestra next year.”
South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell was presented with a “thank you” certificate for his decision to direct more than $40,000 in funds raised from this year’s Mayor’s Charity Ball to Red Earth.
Also praised was Deputy Mayor Kathy Duff, who directed an inheritance via the Foundation For Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) and Red Earth to a project to revitalise the Proston CBD.
Georgie said Red Earth was proud to be able to support Cr Duff with her vision for Proston.
Retiring Board member Mandy Bishop – who has been with Red Earth since its early formation meetings in 2011 – was presented with a small gift and thanked for her years of service.
The successful applicants for the 2020 Community Leadership Program were announced at the AGM: Amanda Astill, Sarah Avis, Elvis Bell, Letetia Berthelsen, Paul Berthelsen, Nikki Briggs, Brenda Brown, Daniel Clacy, Kim Corfield, Kim Donohue, Keerthana Gillingham, Cindy Godden, Priscilla Hanlon, Clinton Kenyon, Misty Neilson-Green, Rachel Niemann, Michelle Reay, Christine Scutt, Jules Shanahan, Sharon Sippel, Daryl Stone, Craig Tunley and Clare Webb.
The Barambah Branch of the Queensland Rural Regional and Remote Women’s Network (QRRRWN) – which has supported Red Earth since its foundation – also took the opportunity to announce the recipient of its 2020 $1000 further education bursary: Belinda Whybrow, from Nanango.
To be eligible, the recipient must be a woman aged over 30 and living in the South Burnett.
- Related article: Red Earth Pitches A New Way
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