{"id":250538,"date":"2019-12-18T21:18:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T11:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=250538"},"modified":"2020-07-13T17:22:57","modified_gmt":"2020-07-13T07:22:57","slug":"red-earth-reflects-on-a-big-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/12\/18\/red-earth-reflects-on-a-big-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Earth Reflects On A Big Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Red Earth chair Georgie Somerset, left, and project officer Jules Entwistle, right, presented a thank-you gift to retiring Board member Mandy Bishop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

December 18, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The philanthropic organisation held its annual general meeting, dubbed the “Red Report”, over breakfast in Kingaroy on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

The diners were told that new Board members had been enlisted from Monto and Theodore to reflect this greater coverage.<\/p>\n

Participants from the greater Burnett area had also taken part in the organisation’s successful annual Community Leadership Program at the Bunya Mountains.<\/p>\n

Board members mingled with past and future participants of the Leadership Program before sitting down to a hot breakfast.<\/p>\n

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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She said these networks were “the threads that bind us”, building strength in the region.<\/p>\n

Highlights over the past year for Red Earth also included the “Red Pitch” crowdfunding event, which raised money for worthwhile local projects.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“It was an amazing success,” Emma said. “We have 50 new members and we are planning to continue the young orchestra next year.”<\/p>\n

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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Georgie said Red Earth was proud to be able to support Cr Duff with her vision for Proston.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

To be eligible, the recipient must be a woman aged over 30 and living in the South Burnett.<\/p>\n