The story behind the nominees of the Gold Coast Bulletin’s 2024 Woman of the Year awards, presented by Harvey Norman
Despite the whirlwind of national adulation and media exposure, Alexa Leary just can’t wait to get back into training. Read what she’s been up to after the Games.
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Nominations for the Gold Coast Bulletin Woman of the Year awards, brought to you by Harvey Norman, have opened for 2024.
This year the prestigious annual campaign has expanded with new categories Fashion Retail Stars and Professionals, along with plans for an even bigger and better awards night.
The Champions of Women category for men is continuing after being won posthumously last year by Urbis director, father and husband, Matthew Schneider.
The awards highlight and celebrate many of the unsung heroes in the community in the arts, business, sport, education, tourism, volunteering and more.
Nominations for 12 Women of the Year awards categories are open until September 21 - you can self-nominate.
Alexa Leary - nominated for Champions of Sport category presented by Harvey Norman
Alexa Leary is settling back into life on the Gold Coast.
The 23-year-old swimmer became one of the faces of Australia’s successful Paralympics campaign in Paris, claiming two gold and one silver medal. In the 100m freestyle she broke her own world record with a blistering 59.53 seconds.
And despite the whirlwind of national adulation and media exposure, ‘Lex’ just wants to get back into the pool and start training again.
“I’ve only been home for two days and I’m not really sleeping but I’m just trying to get back to reality,” she said.
“I have appointments again and of course I want to get back into swim training not going to lie, I’ll just get bored so I definitely want to get back into the water but I do have a little more time to rest and relax.”
Leary’s story has been well documented. She endured a horror pushbike crash during a triathlon training ride on the Sunshine Coast in 2021.
The incident left her with a traumatic brain injury and other physical ailments.
But she fought back to become a Paralympic swimming champion, becoming a genuine star at the recent Paris Games.
But rather than looking to the past, it’s the future that Leary has her sights on, particularly the next four years.
“I’m very excited, I’ve got this and like, come on I’ve got four years left, so I’m gonna rip something out hard, go back into training for four years straight.
“LA is a good place too so that’s gonna be awesome to have the Olympics and Paralympics there (in 2028).
“I’m just a person with a lot of determination and I just don’t stop, I’m always on the go, go, go.
“My parents are always like ‘Come on, let’s go. Do it. Let’s do it’ and just me myself I’ve always just wanted to do it, I just don’t stop moving,” she said.
Leary, who has been nominated for the Gold Coast Bulletin Woman of the Year Awards by Harvey Norman in the Champions of Sport category, will return to training at Bond University with her coach Jon Bell, who she said pushes her to be her best in the pool.
“He’s been my coach for two years, or two and a half years since I got out of the hospital, he’s just a person that has a lot of acceptance and understanding of my traumatic brain injury.
“He helps me every day and then gets me in the water and sees my ability of how I can swim on that day,” she said.
Leary said she’s also excited to get on stage with Gold Coast music star DJ Fisher, who sent her a video after her world record-breaking swim at the Games.
“I’m waiting for Fisher to tell me to come and see him, I’ll wait until he gets back from overseas, going to meet Fisher, going to play some DJ decks with him,” she said
Holly Richmond - nominated for the Environmental Warriors category
Holly Richmond was so shocked by what she saw happening with Gold Coast shark nets, she decided to make a documentary about it.
The Marine biologist, wildlife vet nurse, conservationist and film director is passionate about her pursuit of wildlife education and protection.
But it’s her work illuminating the realities of shark nets that has prompted a nomination for the Environmental Warriors category presented by City of Gold Coast for this year’s Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year Awards by Harvey Norman.
Ms Richmond has also spent years championing women’s involvement in environmental advocacy and to make a tangible difference in their communities.
Ms Richmond said her interest in marine conservation was first sparked on a holiday to Moreton Island when she was just eight.
“What really pushed the marine conservation for me was we did a family trip over to Moreton Island, and I saw eight dead sea turtles in one day washed up on the beach.
“You could see parts of their body that were decomposing and they had plastic in their guts.
“I was quite shaken seeing all these dead turtles on the beach and I went back to school and was trying to teach all my classmates about plastic and saving turtles,” she said.
In 2019, Ms Richmond became a film director, exploring the impact of shark nets on Gold Coast beaches in her film, The Shark Net Film.
“It all kind of happened really organically, I learned about these shark nets, and I knew they were just off the beaches on the Gold Coast so I just started going out and checking them out.
“I checked about 500 individual nets over two years, and I was finding a lot of entangled rays, turtles, sharks and non threatening sharks, particularly leopard sharks, saw a whale that was entangled in one.
“I was filming it all at this time, just purely documenting it. Then I started to realise people needed to see this footage.
“It was quite surreal, because I would go out there see all these really horrifying things and I’d come back to shore and everybody’s laying on the beach, having their morning walk, their morning coffee and nobody knew about what was happening.
“It was just really conflicting and mind blowing so with the footage, I thought the best way of educating people was to make a documentary.
“I really wanted to primarily just educate people about the shark net program to then hopefully inspire more positive change,” she said.
Ms Richmond said the documentary shocked a lot of people because they didn’t know what shark nets actually did.
“The most common misconception the shark nets are a barrier, so a lot of people are quite surprised it’s a culling device, they’re there to capture and kill sharks.
“A lot of people get emotional watching the film because nobody wants to see harm to animals,” she said.
“The nets aren’t catching the target species either, from what I could see, out of two years of monitoring, I didn’t find a Great White, a tiger shark or a bull shark.
“Last time I checked there were eight target species that they primarily want to catch, but the gear isn’t modified for those species,” she said.
Ms Richmond said shortly after her documentary, new laws stopped anyone from interfering with shark nets.
“In 2019 it became illegal to go out and do any independent monitoring of the shark nets. Previously there was no law against going up to the net, but you weren’t allowed to touch it.
“Since 2019, shortly after my film came out, it became illegal to be within 30 metres of any of the devices out there, the nets or the drum lines.
“Even if it’s a turtle and it’s in the net, it’s alive and struggling, I’m legally not allowed to cut that animal free, I have to contact fisheries for them to come out.
“It’s really disappointing it’s now even more difficult to sort of see what’s happening out there,” she said.
Ms Richmond is working as a wildlife vet nurse as well as working alongside fisheries to “make a bit of change from that angle”.
Nominations for 12 categories in the Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year awards by Harvey Norman close on September 21 – you can self-nominate.
Susan Crain - nominated for the Wellness Warriors category
Susan Crain has built a community of help for struggling Australian women.
Nominated for the Wellness Warriors category for this year’s Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year Awards by Harvey Norman, Ms Crain has dedicated the past 30 years of her life to combining support services in one place to better help those in need.
Ms Crain said she first started her business, Family Counselling Support Network, because she found there was a shortage of wellness support in the community.
“I help my clients with all sorts of things from domestic violence assistance support to career advisory support to more emotional support.
“What I realised that there was a terrible shortage in wellness support in so many different facets,
“I decided to create Family Counselling Support Network, which runs as a social enterprise, and start to get all this help, all on one place, because there’s too many silos out there.
“There might be the Forgotten Women, there might be Rise Up. There might be DV Connect but no one actually really knows what everyone does and how to access it.
“Particularly when you’re operating under trauma or any grief, you don’t even know how to get help or where to start,” she said.
“What I started to do was work out, who do I have contact with, who can I draw together and we’ll start to create hubs of consolidated information.
“If you go onto the website you can get help from all these different wellness hubs,” she said.
Ms Crain said she quickly realised the importance of these hubs for supporting women.
“The DV [help] is there, but we still have this terrible shortage of support for women in all different other ways.
“So then I created wellness hub, a men’s wellness hub, a Rural Women’s Support Hub, and a parent assist hub,” she said.
Ms Crain personally funds her enterprise and said she was really passionate about it because she had “seen lots of lives lost”.
“You see the statistics rising, you see the isolation, the disconnect... it’s terrible how isolated and sad and lonely people are.
“Every single day, I have people literally starting conversations with me, saying ‘I don’t think I can take another day of this’,” she said.
Ms Crain’s hub’s provide women access to counselling, separation and divorce coaching and couples therapy with trained psychologists.
Pam Sturgess- nominated for the Angels Among Us category presented by St Hilda’s School Gold Coast
Most people like to fade off into retirement for a life of leisure. But then most people are not like Pam Sturgess.
For eight years, the woman behind the Gold Coast Local Charity Lunch has been dedicating her retirement to helping the community.
Nominated for the Angels Among Us category presented by St Hilda’s School for this year’s Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year Awards by Harvey Norman, Ms Sturgess raised $95,000 for ten charities in 2023 alone.
Ms Sturgess said she and a friend were originally volunteering for another charity and decided they wanted to do more.
“We ended up at the first lunch we had 80 people, we were stunned and to this day, some of those 80 still come every month.
“That sort of tells you about the community that we’ve been able to build, they still come, they’re still helping in any way they can and from there, it just seemed to grow,” she said.
Ms Sturgess said they hold charity lunches once a month and now get anywhere between 120 to 180 attendees at every one.
“The whole thing is about helping our own because we really do live in a very wonderful place, I’m just lucky that I’m in a position that I’ve been able to do this,” she said.
“I’ve been very lucky in my in my life, I really never wanted for anything, I think sometimes if you’re helping others you don’t dwell on anything that might be going on in your own life.
Ms Sturgess donates the funds raised to a different charity every month.
“Little charities like Show The Way, which feed the homeless down in Labrador … we help her every year at Christmas.
“Christmas Presents for Kids in Care is a very small charity that helps children in foster care and there are over 600 children in foster care here on the Gold Coast.
“There’s another charity called Lotus, which look after ladies with terminal illness and she provides pampering for them,” she said.
Ms Sturgess said she likes to give back to small local charities to ensure what she’s doing is making a different in the Gold Coast community.
“We are a very, very giving community, the generosity of the people on the Coast is amazing and it’s so nice to be able to help people that haven’t been as lucky as I have.
“We give the money to the charities the day of the lunch and then we’re able to go back to people the next month and say this is what your money did, this is how you helped your local community,” she said.
Nominations for 12 Women of the Year awards categories are open until September 21 – you can self-nominate.
Patrick Edwards - nominated for the Champion of Women category presented by Village Roadshow Theme Parks
The owner-operator of Australian Freedom Boat Club on the Gold Coast is committed to empowering women with knowledge and skills to enjoy boating, traditionally male dominated.
Patrick Edwards has been nominated for the Champion of Women category presented by Village Roadshow Theme Parks for this year’s Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year Awards by Harvey Norman.
Mr Edwards’ said he was a yacht broker when he first moved to the Gold Coast but decided it wasn’t the right move for him - which is when he discovered the Freedom Boat Club.
“When I got told about this model, it just made sense, but not only for me as an experienced boatie, but for someone who doesn’t have any experience at all.
“That’s probably the most daunting part for someone looking to get into boating is - the fact we offer one-on-one training builds the confidence.
“It’s amazing to see some of our members have gone from no boating experience, to now being able to take one by themselves, having the confidence,” he said.
Mr Edwards said the industry standard was that boating was a male dominated field but he was trying to change that.
“Giving the confidence to someone who is able to stand up against those stereotypes is what we’re all about.
“It’s a very hard [industry] to crack and giving someone the confidence to do that is amazing, we get women saying ‘Oh no, I won’t drive the boat, I’ll sit and drink the champagne’.
“We always say to them ‘Why don’t you give it a try’ and then see them build their confidence and become that person steering the boat is pretty cool,” he said.
The Gold Coast branch of the Australian Freedom Boat Club has 87 users - 41 are women.
More than 35 per cent of Freedom Boat Club’s Australian members are women, with 33 per cent entirely new to boating before joining.
Nominations for 12 Women of the Year awards categories are open until September 21 - you can self-nominate.
Jeannie Savage - nominated for the Entrepreneurs category presented by Coastal
After 14 years of hard work, it only took Jeannie Savage one month to start raking in six figure revenue, following her launch of The Strategic Bookkeeper.
Ms Savage, the Founder and CEO of Cloud 9 Strategic, Better in Business, and The Strategic Bookkeeper has built a legacy of helping service-based businesses, particularly those led by working mums and dads, achieve success.
Ms Savage, who has been nominated for the Entrepreneurs category presented by Coastal for this year’s Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year Awards by Harvey Norman, formulated The Strategic Bookkeeper to help people build and sustain a thriving practice through her book, podcast and program.
“I started bookkeeping, not knowing how important flexibility would be to me, because I had a special-needs child, he’s quite extraordinary.
“I scaled my bookkeeping practice into what I call a lifestyle practice so that meant that I could pull a nice income out of it but tons of time wealth, which I needed desperately.
“My marriage was melting down, my child was five, and I was pretty spent physically, spiritually and mentally.
“But it was because I went through all of that and because my top two needs were growth and contribution, that I had this spark in the pit of my stomach and I wanted to help women all over the world that were going through the same thing,” Ms Savage said.
Ms Savage said her main goal in creating her businesses was to help herself and help others.
“After about 13 years in practice, I shared my secrets to success in a tell-all book and a companion podcast, which I’ve won multiple awards for.
“I launched my book and my podcast early last year, and then I opened the doors to my program in August, being my life’s work, and it has gone crazy.
“I help women all over the world who bring me in tears at the impact of my work because I’m doing exactly what I always said I would do.”
Ms Savage said success is all about mindset and she has built her empire on a three-word mentality.
“[Success] is a three step process, and it goes mindset, productivity, mechanics.
“I think that we all have to really look at how we achieve whatever we want to achieve, whether that’s being a great mum, whether it’s a purpose project in your career, whatever it is, I always thought it was the mechanics, but we first have to set our mindset.
“We have to take a no fail approach and really set ourselves up for success and then the second thing is that we need to find a way to be able to architecture our time, and there’s a science to that, atomic habits.
“I think sometimes telling people that really helps them understand that if you’re failing around the mechanics, it’s probably more mindset,” she said.
Nominations for 12 Women of the Year awards categories are open until September 21 - you can self-nominate.
Annelies Nijskens - nominated for the Entrepreneurs category presented by Coastal
Cheers to Annelies Nijskens for leading the way in what has been historically a male-dominated industry.
The owner of Gold Coast’s popular and award-winning Belgian brewery Madocke has been nominated for the entrepreneurs category presented by Coastal for this year’s Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year Awards by Harvey Norman.
Ms Nijskens, who moved to Australia from Belgium eight years ago, said while it can challenging in the brewing industry, she has gained respect and is determined to create pathways for other female brewers.
“I’ve been able to make my way and I have been respected, I am very much a people person and I don’t try to push myself on them as ‘I’m a female, so get me in’.
“If you work hard you are capable of gaining the respect and your position in whatever industry that you’re in,” she said.
Earlier this year Ms Nijskens was elected into the board of directors for the Independent Brewers Association (IBA).
“I get to advocate nationally for the small independent groups and fight for their rights and out of the seven board members, we are just two females. It’s working in a group with five other males and raising our voice and making sure that even the small, tiny independent breweries are known and well supported within these within the Australian community,” Ms Nijskens said.
Also part of the ‘Pink Boots’ society, Ms Nijskens along with other women she works and drinks with designed a brew for Madocke for International Women’s Day.
“Every year the Pink Boots Society, the females in the brewing sector, select the hop suppliers, a variety of blend of hops, which is one of the main ingredients of beer.
“That variety hop blend can be sold under the Pink Boot Society and then it is up to the breweries to buy that hop blend and do something with it.
“This year we invited a few of the prominent females in our business, myself, a few of my staff, a few of the ladies that come [to the brewery] and we brewed the beer with them, completely designed it.
“We called it Hermeline and Pearls and it was a massive hit in the tap room... it was an atypical beer, it was a Brut IPA and it tasted like a fine wine, a fine champagne.
“It showcases what you can do with beer, and that way we could attract more females, learning and checking out to you and seeing if beer would be something for them,” she said.
Madocke won champion Small Independent Brewery at the 2023 awards and were also crowned Champion European-Style Ale at the 2022 Indies.
Mary Walters - nominated for the Entrepreneurs category presented by Coastal
The co-owner of not one, but two luxury hair salons on the Gold Coast and in Sydney has revealed her aim is to show her three daughters that “you can have it all” in life.
Owner of the Oscar Oscar Salons in Pacific Fair and Bondi Junction, Mary Walters said she has had to learn to separate her home and work life.
“I’ve learned over the years to when I’m at work, I’m working and when I’m at home I can be really present with the kids but it can definitely be tough... I’ve learned that I have to try and be present in both.
“I want to show [my daughters] that you can have a family and be a good mum and work, I want them to see that you can have it all,” she said.
Ms Walters, who has been in the hairdressing industry for 20 years, said that empowering and guiding her team in their careers is a priority.
“I want them to see that you can you can work your way up, and you can have your own business in a very laborious industry, you can’t be on the floor forever.
“Part of my development and leadership with them is showing them how to go into different pathways either managing or educating.
“I’m like a coach, I can still oversee things that are happening in the business, and my managers are like my team captains and then everyone else are players.
“I think it’s important to be able to see people’s potential as well and see what they’re good at, and put people in those roles where they can really help the business and help further themselves at the same time,” she said.
Also co-founder of a hair extension brand, Ms Walters travels around Australia to teach masterclasses.
“I co-founded a hair extension brand which we stock in all of the Oscar stores and then a few other sellers nationally as well.
“It’s called Liberty hair extensions and my business partner is a hair extension technician so she started the brand a couple of years ago, and then asked me to collaborate with her
“We do master classes around Australia, teach other hairdressers to install their extension, extensions like wefts and tapes,” she said.
Ms Walters was also a finalist in the AHIA Salon Team of the Year in 2020 and 2021.
Regan Merka - nominated for the Entrepreneurs category presented by Coastal
After finding that traditional prams and wagons didn’t meet her family’s needs, this Gold Coast mother of two set out to develop a solution for parents across the world.
Inspired by her autistic daughter, Regan Merka developed Burleigh Wagon seven years ago so her family could enjoy outdoor activities with ease.
Ms Merka said with her eldest child on the spectrum, she had specific needs that traditional prams on the market just weren’t catering for.
“She absolutely hated being constrained in a pram, she couldn’t kind of see out in all directions so when we made our wagon, we made it specifically geared toward what she needed.
“The walls are a bit more shallow (so) kids with different disabilities, whether it’s spina bifida or autism, (the wagon) is actually quite easier for them to get into.
“This is really easy access for children to get into that have disabilities, it feels like a bit of a toy for them, but the functionality of what it does is handy for parents as well.”
Ms Merka said the Burleigh Wagon makes family outings with her daughter far easier.
“We are really passionate about trying to get other families like us, getting their wagons funded through NDIS,” she said.
“Family outings are difficult for any family, but I think when you’ve got a child with additional needs it can be really challenging.”
Ms Merka said that as her business grows, the most rewarding part was seeing other families in her situation using the wagon.
“That’s the most rewarding, seeing families tag us specifically,” she said.
“I had a lady yesterday do a reel specifically on her son and he will only go certain places if they bring the wagon.
“That’s the kind of stuff when times are tough for us but I still see families being like, ‘We’re still using it five years on with our autistic child’, and it just makes it all worth it.”
Mr Merka and her husband, who are originally from Californa, have recently expanded their market to the United States and were featured on last year’s season of Shark Tank.
“We partnered with Davie Fogarty, who’s the guy who makes the Oodies and he owns 25% of our business now,” she said.
“It’s been really helpful to try to pick all their brains. You get, like, an automatic think tank.”
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Originally published as The story behind the nominees of the Gold Coast Bulletin’s 2024 Woman of the Year awards, presented by Harvey Norman
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