QRRRWN - Queensland Rural Regional & Remote Women's Network

📣 If you think 2024 was great, 2025 I can promise is our year. What we have planned is ridiculously amazing 🤩🤩 Not a member it’s not too late to join. https://lnkd.in/gyTB8hHV

The Rural, Regional and Remote Queensland Women annual Study aims to understand conditions impacting rural, regional and remote women in Queensland, alongside your wants and needs. The 2024-25 survey is closing soon. Don't miss the chance the have your insight count: https://shorturl.at/OSrJv

🐴Meet our small business member: Hayley Chambers from Animal Instincts Australia Hayley Chambers is a transformative coach, trainer, counsellor, author, and speaker with over 25 years of expertise in the personal development, coaching, and animal industries. As the Managing Director of Animal Instincts Australia and Outback Equines, she has redefined empowerment through animal and equine-assisted therapy and coaching. Hayley’s programs merge evidence-based strategies with the profound wisdom of animals, creating unique experiences that help individuals overcome challenges, build resilience, and unlock their full potential. Driven by her own journey through grief, loss, and the pursuit of self-care, Hayley learned the transformative power of trusting her instincts. Animals played an essential role in her healing, grounding her in the present and teaching her to embrace life’s unpredictability. These same animals now support her clients in their journeys of growth and self-discovery, embodying Hayley’s core philosophy: empowerment through connection. Hayley’s work spans a diverse audience, from children with disabilities to women seeking empowerment, as well as professionals in high-stress industries. Her programs, hosted on a stunning 103-acre property just outside of Toowoomba, Queensland, combine innovative methods like equine assisted therapy, animal assisted activities, team building and leadership workshops. Notably, Hayley and her team also rehabilitate rescue animals alongside their clients, offering healing for both humans and animals alike. Through her dynamic workshops and presentations, Hayley inspires organisations and individuals to reconnect with their intuition, foster resilience, and embrace authentic living. Her compassionate and intuitive approach leaves a lasting impact, making her a sought-after speaker and facilitator. Whether guiding a leadership retreat or empowering individuals to embrace their own "animal instincts," Hayley is dedicated to creating meaningful, life-changing experiences. She lives her passion daily alongside her 12-year-old son, a team of facilitators and therapists, and a line-up of extraordinary therapy animals, continuing to advocate for the transformative power of human-animal connections. If you or your organisation is seeking personal or professional growth and wants to explore the healing and transformative power of connections with animals, we invite you to contact Animal Instincts Australia. See Animal Instincts Australia for details. To be part of the RRR Women Membership network see https://lnkd.in/gyTB8hHV

What a year 2024 has been, for our organistaion and board, our members and growing network and the wider Queensland community. To each and every member and supporter in 2024 - thank you. If you responded to our research, joined a working group, attended a webinar or event, sponsored or donated to our events,  shared your feedback and insight, or were among the hard working volunteer event committees, thank you so much. We’re so pleased you’re all here - part of the RRRW network and we could not have done it without you all. This year we set out to ensure we’re maximising the value we offer our members, through connection, empowerment and inspiration, while securing RRR Women’s viability and sustainability into the future. There is always more work to do, but we’re so proud of what we’ve achieved this year: 🎉More than 150 people attended the Ekka Long Lunch in August, celebrating the first day of the Ekka. We couldn’t have achieved this without our sponsors- R.M Williams, Sugar Research Australia and Queensland Farmers Federation. It was our biggest event in recent years.  🎉We hosted the first ever networking event at the Warwick Rodeo in October, and led an expert panel at our sell-out event at Beef Week in Rockhampton in May, hosted in the Westpac marquee.  🎉We launched the RRR Women Study, to understand the wants and needs of women across the state, and to help us advocate for policy and outcomes on behalf of our members.  🎉We secured a Queensland Government grant to buy Darla, the RRR women car. Give us a toot if you see us in town.  🎉And of course we’ve committed to the return of the RRR Women conference in June 2025 in Rockhampton. We asked our members if you would like us to host conference again and 100% of those who responded overwhelmingly said yes! So we are. And we can’t wait to see you in Rockhampton in 2025!  🎉We renewed a historic Memorandum of Understanding with Georgie Somerset and the team at Red Earth, to deliver a bursary fund to help women attend personal and professional development events. Our past board worked so hard to raise this money and now it’s being invested right back into our members. To read more about the year, see the annual report: https://shorturl.at/gXqEf Thanks again for joining us this year - and see you in 2025.

Want to be the first to know when tickets come on sale for our 2025 Conference in Rockhampton? Register your expression of interest here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gdghp3iG Held on the 5 & 6 June 2025 in Rockhampton, we can't wait to bring our RRR Women Conference back to life in the beef capital and we'd love you to join us!

This month we see Board Member Carolyn (Carrie) Bourke finish her two year term on the RRR Women Board. Carrie contributed significantly to our Embracing Leadership Program, and helped us deliver maximum impact to participants. Recently Carrie also brought her experience in the rodeo circuit to host our first ever RRR Women Warick Rodeo Round-Up. Carrie has dedicated her attention to detail, patience, passion and positivity to our organisation and we so appreciate all she has done for our board and members. See you ring-side sometime Carrie 🐴 A message from Carrie: "When I applied for a board position with RRRW, my goal was to gain experience, particularly in governance, and to understand how RRRW CONNECT, DEVELOP, and INSPIRE women across the state. What I received, however, was far more than I anticipated. Through the Embracing Leadership Program, I had the privilege of experiencing the program firsthand in both Toowoomba and Bundaberg. I met so many incredible women eager to take the next step in their personal and professional growth. Partnering with Actrua reinforced my belief that true leadership begins with understanding oneself. Leading with confidence is about self-awareness, which in turn creates a better working environment and fosters stronger networks. Participating in board functions has given me valuable insights into what it takes to set strategic direction, create impactful events, and build lasting connections within our communities. It has been both a privilege and an opportunity to work alongside such inspiring individuals on the board. Through this role, I've developed meaningful friendships and learned more than I could have imagined. Ultimately, I have come to appreciate that it takes the collective knowledge and passion of dedicated individuals to make a lasting impact and shape the future of RRRW and the women it supports."

This month marks Juliette Wright OAM's last term as a RRR Women Board member. Juliette has contributed significantly to our organisation and members over the past four years in multiple roles on the board as has been behind many key outcomes, including the rebrand. We’ve all been so fortunate to have her professionalism, expertise and experience in our corner and for so long. Juliette has many other commitments she has chosen to turn her time and attention to. Not least of Which is GIVIT.org.au. The entire Board thanks Juliette for her ongoing committment to our organisation, and wishes her all the best. Our organisation and our members have been so lucky to have you Juliette! A message from Juliette: Four years ago, I joined the Queensland Rural, Regional, and Remote Women's Network (QRRRWN) Board because, as a grazier and CEO of a not-for-profit, I was passionate about ensuring that women and families in rural, regional, and remote areas across Queensland had access to the services and support they needed. During my time as Vice President, I had the privilege of serving under two Presidents. It was such a joyful, rewarding experience, especially when I was entrusted with the task of modernising our 30-year-old name—streamlining it to “RRR Women”—and creating a new logo that reflected our roots and our mission. I wanted to honour our forefounders, who were dedicated to elevating and supporting RRR women across this incredible state. Now, as I complete my second full term and step down due to constitutional limits, I feel it’s time for the next generation of young women to take my seat and continue this important work. I want to express my deepest thanks to everyone who has been part of this journey. Serving on the RRR Women Board and working with members and helping them achieve their goals, with so many passionate and inspiring women has been a true honour, and I will always remain connected to the RRR community, and always call you my friends. While I transition to supporting as a proud member and number one fan, I look forward to seeing RRR Women flourish in the years to come. Thank you for having me!

Some insight from our board member Petrea George on RRR Women in 2024 🎀 It’s an honour to have you on the board Petrea!

A deserving acknowledgement for our former president and long-time supporter Georgie Somerset.

Historic Milestone! This Parliament marks the swearing-in of the 100th woman in Queensland's history! We now have a total of 110 female Members, with the newest cohort achieving an equal 50/50 gender split between women and men. Progress in action! 🙌 #QldParliament