Revealed: Shine Awards 2022 finalists

Meet the 19 rural women honoured this year for their contributions on farms, in communities and in regional industries across Australia.

Meet the finalists in the 2022 Shine Awards.

Now in its sixth year, the Shine Awards celebrates the achievements and contributions of women across rural and regional Australia, in partnership with Harvey Norman.

Nominees’ stories have appeared in The Weekly Times during the past year, with a dedicated campaign that put rural women in the spotlight for the past 14 weeks.

Finalists have been chosen in each of six categories — Belief, Courage, Dedication, Grace, Passion and Spirit. A Youth Award will also be presented to a nominee under the age of 30 who shows great potential to be a future leader in her industry or endeavour.

The category winners will each receive a $2500 voucher from Harvey Norman.

From these, one will be chosen as the overall winner and receive an additional $5000 from Harvey Norman.

The winners will be revealed in a special Shine Awards magazine, featuring the inspirational stories of all 19 finalists. Don’t miss it, free in The Weekly Times on Wednesday, November 23.

SHINE AWARDS 2022 FINALISTS

BELIEF

Meagan Chivers has been nominated for her work as a youth mental health worker in rural Tasmania. Picture: Jazz Hutchins

Meagan Chivers, Royal Flying Doctors young mental health worker, Mount Seymour, TAS

Meagan is passionate about boosting the wellbeing of young people across rural Tasmania and returned to study as a mature-age student to become a qualified counsellor, now travelling hundreds of kilometres to help others in a role with the RFDS.

DIT AgTech researcher Vivienne McCollum (right) and South Australian farmer Penny Beckey.

Vivienne McCollum, ag-tech pioneer, Toowoomba, QLD

Vivienne is leading a project to develop game-changing technology that can help cattle producers in Northern Australia lower the national herd’s methane emissions.

Our Cow founder Bianca Tarrant.

Bianca Tarrant, Our Cow founder, Baryulgil, NSW

Bianca founded Our Cow meat delivery service to help survive drought years on her northern NSW farm. The business has grown rapidly, now supplied by more than 100 other farmers, and has helped her whole region.

COURAGE

Linda Goldspink-Lord is the founder of Poseidon Animal Health founder and author of Crawling Through the Darkness.

Linda Goldspink-Lord, author and equine entrepreneur, Kembla Grange, Illawarra, NSW

Linda has launched a successful animal nutrition company, applying what she has learnt about the connection between wellbeing and digestive health to animals. She has also written a book about managing grief, Crawling Through the Darkness, sharing the story of how she and her family survived the loss of one of her children in an on-farm accident.

Tanya Holmes founded Imperfectly Perfect Sugar Cookies at Bathurst after suffering ruptured vertebrae that left her partially paralysed. Picture: Kirsten Cunningham

Tanya Holmes, Imperfectly Perfect Sugar Cookies founder, Bathurst, NSW

Tanya is a mother of children with cerebral palsy and an entrepreneur who founded her own business after acquiring a disability herself. She is a role model for other rural business women and people with disabilities across the nation.

Natalie Kerst runs The Big Bouquet cut flower farm. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Natalie Kerst, The Big Bouquet flower farmer, Healesville, VIC

Natalie faced huge loss two years ago when her husband died after an on-farm accident, but has persevered with her flower farm during what was a challenging time for the industry, and come out the other side with a thriving business.

DEDICATION

Julie has been nominated for her pioneering work creating a years 9 and 10 agribusiness education program in collaboration with farmers. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Julie Aldous, agriculture educator, Mansfield, VIC

Julie created a unique agribusiness education program for years 9 and 10 students that connects employers with students and teaches practical industry skills to the next generation of workers.

Cattle farmer Bloss Hickson on Huntly, her 5000ha organic cattle and permaculture property in Brigalow country near Rolleston in the Arcadia Valley.

Bloss Hickson, organic farmer, Rolleston, QLD

Bloss is passionate about the importance of trees in grazing systems and has created a thriving organic cattle operation while maintaining vegetation coverage on her 5000ha block in the Brigalow Belt. She shares what she has learnt through on-farm workshops.

CWA Victoria president Pam Mawson at home at Warragul. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Pam Mawson, CWA Victoria president, Warragul, VIC

Pam has been a member of the CWA for 20 years and has steered the ship through the past two years of the pandemic.

GRACE

Robyn Fuhrmeister is founder of Care Balonne.

Robyn Fuhrmeister, Care Balonne founder, St George, QLD

Robyn is a long-time councillor and founder of a support services group in Balonne Shire that helps the most vulnerable in her community.

Tammie Meehan and Carly McKinnis are founders of One Red Tree Resource Centre that provides mental health services to families and young people across western Victoria. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Carly McKinnis and Tammie Meehan, clinical psychologist and teacher, Ararat, VIC

Carly and Tammie have spearheaded a unique mental health services organisation that is delivering crucial support services to young people and families through schools across western Victoria.

Alana Sheridan has not given up on her dream of buying her own farm to run her cattle, despite the setback of the floods in northern NSW.

Alana Sheridan, flood-affected farmer, Green Forest, NSW

Alana faced great personal loss during the February floods in northern NSW but hasn’t let that dim her passion for agriculture and owning her own farm.

PASSION

Lucy Collins is a vet and a dairy farmer in Dixie. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Lucy Collins, livestock vet and dairy farmer, Dixie, VIC

Dairy farmer and livestock vet Lucy works to connect other young women in dairy and is a co-founder of a conference for women in the industry.

Iris & Wool founder Emily Riggs at home on the farm in Burra with her children Sam and Lucy. Picture: Matt Turner

Emily Riggs, Iris and Wool founder, Burra, South Australia

Emily has turned person tragedy into a passion for fashion, launching her own brand that champions sustainable, traceable Australian Merino fibre and giving a slice of profits to a breast cancer support charity.

Native Secrets founder Cherie Thompson of Dubbo with Wiradjuri Elder Peter Peckham. Picture: Ant Geernart for AGSM@UNSW Business School

Cherie Thompson, co-founder of Native Secrets, Dubbo, NSW

Cherie has created a skincare business that harnesses the healing power of native plants. She is using knowledge from her First Nations culture to connect Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

SPIRIT

Nerissa Cooksey, founder of Feed for Friends group, helps connect flood-affected farmers with support services. Picture: Elise Derwin

Nerissa Cooksey, Feed for Friends founder, Woodburn, NSW

Nerissa founded a grassroots flood recovery group called Feed for Friends that has helped livestock and stranded families across the Richmond Valley.

Claire Harris and Kate Strong are on a trip called Hoedowns for Country Towns, teaching linedancing across Australia to raise money for rural charities.

Claire Harris and Kate Strong, Hoedowns for Country Towns dancers, Maleny and Spring Creek, QLD

Claire and Kate have danced their way across Australia to raise money for seven rural charities and give farming communities a reason to kick up their heels.

General Manager of the Koori Mail Naomi Moran in Lismore. Picture: Elise Derwin

Naomi Moran, Koori Mail general manager and flood relief co-ordinator, Lismore, NSW

Naomi and her team at the Koori Mail established a flood recovery hub in Lismore that became the go-to headquarters for delivering immediate assistance to those worst affected by the disaster in February.

Jackie Peacock has raised funds for Beyond Blue riding the Finke Desert Race. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Jackie Peacock, mental health advocate, Hamilton, VIC

Jackie has conquered one of Australia’s toughest desert races on motorcycle to raise awareness and funds for mental health support network Beyond Blue.