{"id":87559,"date":"2014-11-10T22:30:15","date_gmt":"2014-11-10T12:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=87559"},"modified":"2016-02-16T21:00:50","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T11:00:50","slug":"our-qcwa-ladies-do-us-proud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2014\/11\/10\/our-qcwa-ladies-do-us-proud\/","title":{"rendered":"Our QCWA Ladies Do Us Proud"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Members of the new Blackbutt-Yarraman CWA branch which formed this year; the branch now has fifteen members, including some amazingly good cooks! (Photo: Nanango Electorate Office)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>November 11, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Deb Frecklington<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recently I had the real privilege of addressing the 2014 Queensland Country Women\u2019s Association (QCWA) State Conference held in Ipswich.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hundreds of women from around the state gathered for their annual conference, and I felt very honoured to speak to this amazing group of women who do so much to support our community.<\/p>\n

The QCWA have been at the forefront of flood and drought support for many years and continue to provide farming families with food vouchers and help to pay medical bills.<\/p>\n

I personally know how much this assistance has meant to farmers suffering greatly in these ongoing dry conditions.<\/p>\n

If you want to find out more about either donating or applying for assistance, see this link<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a very keen baker, the State Conference was also a great chance to check out the entries in the Cookery Competition.<\/p>\n

It was heaven to look at all the delicious goodies the ladies had made and while I was there, I ran into Shirley Cronk of Crows Nest. Shirley is the most amazing baker and had won four sections of the cookery competition.<\/p>\n

It’s women like Shirley who keep the traditions of the QCWA alive.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I was also really proud to talk to the conference about a newly formed branch of the CWA right here in the South Burnett – the Blackbutt\/Yarraman QCWA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I met this busy and happy group at the Bloomin\u2019 Beautiful Blackbutt Awards Night in Blackbutt.<\/p>\n

They explained that they had been looking for a group in the local area to join and came to the conclusion they should reform the QCWA group.<\/p>\n

About 15 women are now members with Jan Bagdonas of Yarraman as President. That night they catered for the event and the food was amazing.<\/p>\n

And from a brand new group to one that celebrated its 90th Anniversary this year: the Kumbia QCWA Branch.<\/p>\n

They are busier than ever and I was delighted to let President Marian Mudra know that they had successfully secured a $21,000 Gambling Community Benefit Fund grant this year to upgrade their QCWA Hall.<\/p>\n

So thank you to all the wonderful women who make up the QCWA!<\/p>\n

You can see a small part of my speech at the QCWA Conference below (courtesy of Queensland Country Life Journalist Sarah Coulton – thank you Sarah):<\/p>\n

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