Nominate a talented lady for the Bulletin’s Gold Coast Women of the Year campaign
The Bulletin is launching its inaugural Harvey Norman Gold Coast Women of the Year campaign, to celebrate all the fantastic women across our city. Here’s how you can nominate.
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THE Gold Coast has produced some incredibly talented women who prove you can have it all, even if it’s not as easy as they make it look.
Today the Gold Coast Bulletin is launching its inaugural Harvey Norman Gold Coast Women of the Year campaign, to celebrate all the fantastic women across our city.
Hot Tomato breakfast radio host, Emily Jade O’Keefe, knows a strong woman when she sees one.
The 41-year-old herself is balancing a newborn, a seven-year-old, a full-time job, health issues and a few passion projects on the side
“Women can’t always have it all, but we are still trying hard, we are under a lot of pressure — so those giving it their all need to be celebrated,” she said.
NOMINATE HERE FOR GOLD COAST WOMEN OF THE YEAR
Over the next five weeks readers will be able to nominate Gold Coast women in a number of categories including: Wellness Warriors, Champions of Sport, Champions of Education, Style Icons, Angels Among Us, The Entertainers, Sporting Superstars and Entrepreneurs.
O’Keefe will be part of a judging panel led by Harvey Norman CEO Katie Page and including; Frizelle Sunshine CEO Rebecca Frizelle, incoming Griffith University Vice Chancellor Professor Carolyn Evans and Women in Business Awards Australia founder Karen Philips.
The initiative has been designed honour women from all walks of life who are passionate about our community and have helped build and nurture this city.
Ms Page said the coast had a reputation for producing outstanding individuals.
“The Gold Coast really punches above its weight in producing leaders in many areas including sport, business, health and entertainment,” she said.
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“We want to celebrate the achievements of those women making an extraordinary contribution and in turn encourage younger generations with their innovation, passion and dedication.”
Gold Coast Bulletin editor Rachel Hancock said the campaign would uncover the amazing stories of women who were excelling in their chosen fields.
Ms Frizelle said failure had always been an important part of success.
“In today’s online world, sometimes it may feel like failure isn’t an option, yet failure helps to pave the way to success. We need to be courageous and ‘have a go’,” she said.
“The Gold Coast Women of the Year gives our community the opportunity to stop in a busy world and celebrate the good in people.
“I believe a strong woman isn’t afraid to fail, takes risks, accepts responsibility and is thankful.
“Not only will these awards recognise women doing great things, it allows entrants to share their powerful stories across our wider community, which I hope inspires all of us to learn, do and succeed.”
Three finalists will be chosen from each category along with an overall winner.
Gold Coast Bulletin readers will be able to vote online for a People’s Choice winner from 24 finalists.
The Harvey Norman Gold Coast Women of the Year Awards will culminate in a gala lunch event at The Star Gold Cost on International Women’s Day, Friday March 8, where the winners will be announced.
To nominate and for more information on the campaign and prizes, visit womenoftheyear.com.au.
Meet the legendary ladies:
Rebecca Frizelle
FOR Gold Coast business leader and Titans co-owner Rebecca Frizelle failure has always been an important part of success.
“In today’s online world, sometimes it may feel like failure isn’t an option yet failure helps to pave the way to success. We need to be courageous and ‘have a go’,” she said.
The CEO of Frizelle Sunshine Automotive who has long been an icon for business women on the Gold Coast, said she is excited to be part of the panel which will select and celebrate the inspirational women changing lives every day on the Gold Coast.
“The Gold Coast Women of the Year gives our community the opportunity to stop in a busy world and celebrate the good in people,” she said.
“I believe a strong women isn’t afraid to fail, takes risks, accepts responsibility and is thankful.
“Not only will these awards recognise women doing great things, it allows entrant’s to share their powerful stories across our wider community which I hope inspires all of us to learn, do and succeed.”
Occupation: CEO Frizelle Sunshine Automotive
Age: 47
Best piece of advice you can give or have received?
“Never be afraid to try. You are better to try and fail than not to try at all.”
Who is your role model?
“There’s been many wonderful male and female mentors in my life. I
“ have learnt and continue to learn from people from all walks of life but possibly one of my favourite quotes was by JK Rowling who said, “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all — in which case, you fail by default.”
Emily Jade O’Keefe
GOLD Coast voice Emily Jade O’Keefe known for the honest opinions and personal stories she shares on air, sees the ability to embrace weakness as strength.
However for the Hot Tomato Breakfast presenter and Harvey Norman Gold Coast Women of the Year panellist, that view hasn’t always come easy.
“To me a strong woman has always been someone who is recognises they can’t always give 100 per cent to everything but try anyway,” she said.
“I love being able to share my life because every single adversity I have have shared, I found women saying me too — I don’t feel so alone any more.”
“It is something I had to learn because in my twenties I thought I had to be perfect in the media.
“But now the strongest women I know recognises who they are, and somehow manage to keep it together,” she said.
Occupation: Hot tomato Breakfast Presenter and writer
Age: 41
Best piece of advice you can give or received?
“I was actually given this piece of advice by Kerri- Anne Kennerley after I lost a job,” Ms O’Keefe said.
“She said know my worth and not take the first job I was offered, that really was the best thing I could have done in my career.”
Who is your role model?
“Quentin Bryce, an icon in so many ways and so is Kerri- Anne Kennerley.”
Nicolle Edwards
ACTION has always spoken louder than words for Gold Coast domestic violence fighter Nicolle Edwards.
A successful business woman, she and her husband gave it all away in 2016 to jump head first into their charity RizeUp Australia, a group committed to supporting women and children suffering from domestic violence.
“Any risk we were about to take in closing our business wasn’t as scary as what these women were facing,” Ms Edwards said.
“We are the Lucky Country, we live in the most beautiful city in the world and to know that there are so many families impacted by domestic violence we all need to be part of the solution.”
“We need to keep going because we absolutely can’t unknown what we now know about the families in need out there.”
As a nominee for the Harvey Norman Gold Coast Women of the Year Ms Edwards said there are many people who need to be celebrated.
“We cant sit back and be overwhelmed by the enormity and sadness of some of the tragedies in our communities, to me the leaders out there are about really strong action to combat this.”
Occupation: RizeUp Australia co-founder.
Age: 43
Best piece of advice you can give or have received?
“It still stays with me to this day, I was crying over a family’s situation I had read about.
“My husband came over to me and saw me crying he said — your tears won’t fix anything so we need to convert that into action,”
“It was the best piece of advice I had every received.”
Who is your role model?
Kay McGrath
A Message from Harvey Norman’s Katie Page.
Every day in these pages, the Gold Coast Bulletin strives to recognise and celebrate the amazing people and their stories that make the Coast such an incredible place to live. That is why we are proud to bring this exciting initiative to life, the Harvey Norman Gold Coast Women of the Year awards.
During the next five weeks, we will bring you some of the untold stories of women achieving amazing things, often without seeking or demanding recognition.
From the women behind the scenes helping our young athletes excel, to the selfless angels working tirelessly to make the community a better place, we want to share these stories — and say thank you for everything you do in our city.
I encourage you all to nominate.
And, ladies, I look forward to sharing your incredible stories with our readers.
The best thing about the Gold Coast Women of the Year Awards is that it is ‘women’, not ‘woman’. How could you choose just one?
Gerry and I have spent Christmas and January on the Gold Coast for as long as I can remember.
Harvey Norman has been on the Gold Coast for close to 30 years, so if I am not here on holidays, I am here for work. In that time I have met the most incredible women, so it is fair to say these awards are overdue.
The Gold Coast community is tight — you know who is making a difference, those who aren’t in it for applause and are getting the job done — creating educational opportunities; pathways to employment or increasing participation in sport. They deserve, you deserve to be nominated.
Who do you know who has returned to the workforce after studying as a mature age student — in an area where their life experience and skills bring untold benefit to those in their care or workplace?
Volunteering is part of the fabric of Gold Coast life. Thousands of Gold Coast women seek to give back through channels like Volunteering Services Australia, Surf Life Saving Australia or Gold Coast Health. These are the women who deserve to be nominated. Is this your Mum, your sister, friend or colleague?
We need your help to bring these Awards to life. Their stories are the meaning behind us building this platform. Please take the time to nominate the remarkable Gold Coast women in your life.
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