Thank You Everyone!!!! 24 September 2009: On behalf of the Executive and organisers, we’d like to send a huge “THANK YOU!” to everyone who attended and participated in the 2009 QRWN State Conference. More than 170 ladies (and men!) helped to make the Conference a terrific event, jam packed with great guest speakers (wasn’t Natalie Cook fantastic?), unique workshops and experiences (hats off to those who walked on glass!). And - of course - wonderful pampering! We’ll be uploading all the photos from the weekend into the “Conference 2009 Gallery” soon so keep you eyes out for it! Also, if you’d like to provide feedback there’ll be an electronic feedback form available on the website soon. So thanks again and we look forward to hearing from you! Video: Some well-known faces took to the stage at the 2009 State Conference to boogie on down for the chance to win some of the $35,000 of great prizes on offer. Will they ever live this down?

More Than $7,000 In Prizes On Offer At 2009 Conference 18 September 2009: Yes, you’ve read the headline right… our amazing 2009 Conference organising team have sourced prize donations of more than $7,000 to be given away over the course of the Conference weekend! Here’s just a snippet of what’s on offer: Family pass to Australia Zoo (value: $160) Family pass to ride the Valley Rattler Steam Train (value: $100) 18 Holes of golf at Noosa Springs (value: $120) Holiday for four at Rainbow Waters (value: $250) Gift Hamper from Kaiser Crafts (value: $300) Mary Kay Cosmetics (value: $600) Five $200 gift vouchers from the Optical Superstore Kodak Zx1 Pocket Video Camera (value: $200) Blue Dog hats and clothing (value: $360) And on top of that, there’ll also be heaps of goodies in your delegate bag including a selection of great reads from Murdoch Books (some will include Sandy Blackburn Wright’s story "Holding up the Sky"), Gardening Australia magazines, product samples and much more. And if that’s not enough, guest workshop presenter Matt Olaes of Peak Performance Group has donated two amazing training packages worth nearly $37,000!!! Yep… $37,000!!! The training seminar packages will be auctioned at the Gala dinner on Saturday evening and include 6 x 3 day seminar training courses focusing on Entrepreneurial Selling, Marketing and Business Strategies. You can read more about Matt and this fantastic offer by clicking here (650K PDF).

2009 State Conference Keynote Speaker Will Walk On Glass! 17th September 2009: Our keynote speaker at this year’s conference is Australian Beach Volleyball Olympic gold medallist Natalie Cook (pictured at right). And she’s no ordinary guest speaker! Not only will Natalie share her life experiences and inspirations, she'll also demonstrate how she walks on glass! Natalie first started playing beach volleyball in 1993 and turned professional just one year later. She's shared many of her career magic moments with Kerri Pottharst, including three 2001 World Tour podiums and four 4th places. Not bad for a season that could have been an anticlimax after snatching the Olympic Gold in front of a home crowd at Bondi Beach, Sydney 2000. Natalie then joined forces with Nicole Sanderson on their quest for more gold in Athens. After a successful 2003, culminating in a World Championship Bronze medal, Natalie suffered a serious shoulder injury which she carried for all of 2004. And after damaging her shoulder further she courageously battled to the end, losing narrowly to the USA in the Bronze match! Her courage and determination were inspiring to watch and will be placed in history as one of the gutsiest efforts ever given by an Olympic athlete. Natalie’s presentation will captivate your hearts and mind with tales of perseverance, passion and determination. Natalie’s life philosophy of “No Limits” is reflected in her achievements and general attitude to every situation: “When you're running up hill - which we tend to do most of our lives - it doesn’t matter how many times you feel like giving up as long as your feet keep moving.” Natalie will deliver her keynote speech on Sunday evening just before the Wearable Art Extravaganza. This is an opportunity not to be missed!

Conference Toolkit: What To Bring (The Essentials!) 16th September 2009: Getting ready for 2009 State Conference? Packing your bags and wondering what to bring? Well here’s a bit of a checklist so you’ve got something for every occasion and every situation! Something special to wear at the Gala Dinner Something relaxed or way out (carnivale style) for Sunday night (eg: a carnivale masque or wild hat) Cash for all the lovely goodies at the trade displays, the art gallery and the massage centre (every attendee receives one treatment free, following this masseurs and therapists will give their time at a discounted rate) Comfy shoes and clothes for the conference itself Any last minute Cultural Competition entries Your thinking cap! A big appetite, and most importantly.... A sense of fun! Note: Linen & Aeosols: If you’re staying in the dorms at Downlands, all linen and towels will be provided. They also have doonas and pillows so you’ll be snug and warm! Downlands have also requested that aerosols (eg pressurised deodorants) are not used in the dorms because they can set off the fire alarms. They can, however, be used in the bathrooms.

Entries Stream In For 2009 Wearable Art Competition 11th September 2009: A massive 31 entries have been lodged for the Wearable Art Extravaganza to be held on the final night of the 2009 Conference! This is the most entries we’ve ever had and we can’t wait to see how our talented rural women have transformed recycled materials into extraordinary wearable garments! So if you’re coming to the Conference, make sure you don’t miss out on what we’ve got planned for Sunday evening. The night will kick off with our keynote speaker Natalie Cook (who'll also demonstrate how she walks on glass). Then the Carnivale-themed evening will sway to the beat of drummers, fire-twirlers and masqued entertainers. You’ll be feasting in a Garden of Light and then be prepared to be wowed by an amazing sound and light spectacular while the Wearable Art entries are put on show. The finishing touches are being put on Wearable Art entries being brought to the Conference from around the state. Several entries have been submitted by ladies who recently participated in the in QRWN Wearable Art Workshops that were held in Kingaroy, Blackall, Biloela and Longreach. The workshops were proudly supported by Creative Regions and the Regional Arts Fund. The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian Government initiative supporting the arts in regional, remote and very remote/isolated Australia. Photos: An example of a Wearable Art creation (left) and a new creation being assembled at a recent Wearable Art Workshop held in Kingaroy (left). A record field of 31 entries will be trying to top these zany, clever creations at the 2009 State Conference.

Last Call For 2009 Cultural Competition Entries 9th September 2009: Want to submit an entry in the QRWN's 2009 Cultural Competitions? If so, you have just five more days to get your entry form into us. And fame could be just a few short steps away after that! This year we've extended the deadline for entries in the Art, Craft, Photography and Wearable Art categories from September 2nd to September 14th after many members told us they really wanted to take part but were simply too busy to squeeze off time to meet the original schedule. And if you need an extra incentive, this year all the winners in the Cultural Competitions will have their work showcased not only at the 2009 Conference, but also right here on our website after the Conference is over. Why? Because we're proud of how many talented members we have, and we'd like to show your work off to the world. So be quick! Entry forms for all the Cultural Competition categories can be obtained on the Conference Forms page of our site in PDF format right now. Just download them, print them, fill them in and return them to us by fax or mail no later than Monday 14th September.

Yes!!! You Can Now Register For The 2009 Conference Online 2nd September 2009: We're very pleased to announce that you can now register for the 2009 State Conference directly online using a secure online booking service provided by Cvent. Cvent operate a very large online ticketing agency and their service allows you to register for the 2009 Conference and pay for it using using your favourite credit or debit card in a completely secure environment. We hope this great new service will please members who've asked us to provide it. And you can use right right up to the start of the State Conference on Saturday 19th September 2009. Want to register online right now? Then just click here and follow the prompts.

Good On You Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE! 31st August 2009: The QRWN is very proud to announce a new sponsor for our upcoming Conference – the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE. Recognising the importance of access to quality training for rural women, TAFE have jumped on board to support the conference and the training opportunities that it presents across the weekend. Staff from the Kingaroy campus will be on-hand at the Conference Marketplace to answer your training questions and discuss your course requirements. And not only that! During weekend you’ll also have the chance to win one of 30 vouchers to visit the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE Hair and Beauty team at their Toowoomba campus for a hair cut or a relaxing massage. And there'll also be a gorgeous gift pack of hairdressing and beauty products given away to a lucky conference attendee too! We'd like to express our thanks to the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE for valuing our rural women!

Are You Good Enough To Compete In The Cultural Competitions? Of Course You Are! 26th August 2009: The QRWN's 2009 State Conference is now just a little over three weeks away - and excitement about it is definitely starting to build! But one area where we still need more member input are our Cultural Competitions. It seems that some members - maybe you? - think that they're not good enough to compete in these events because of the high standards that have been achieved in previous years. Our answer? Rubbish! The QRWN's Cultural Competitions are open to every member. Your work will be seen by an audience of friends, not critics. And over the years we've been astonished at just how much talent we have in our ranks (much of it formerly unrecognised). But it's not whether you win or lose that really matters. What really matters is having a go and being part of it! Our President learned this lesson back when she was a young girl. She was competing in a contest where she started out thinking she was absolutely hopeless but - to her great surprise - came out on top in the end against all odds. It taught her a very valuable life lesson. So if you think you're not up to scratch for this year's Culutural Competition, it might do the same for you too. You can read Linda's heart-warming 100% true story in PDF format by clicking here. And then you can pick up your Cultural Competition entry forms on this page of our website. UPDATE! The deadline for Cultural Competition entries has now been extended from September 2nd to September 14th (apart from the Short Stories, which is now closed). Entry forms and the rules for each competition can be obtained on the Conference Forms page of our website.

Getting Serious Techniques for Passion! 24 August 2009: The 2009 State Conference promises to be full of fun, entertainment and laughter. But there’ll also be some serious work too! Our lovely Westpac mentor Sandy Blackburn-Wright (pictured at right) will be running the All In sessions at the Conference. Many of you will remember Sandy from last year’s Conference! Moving from Issues to Action… From 2010 the QRWN will be moving strongly into action-projects based on partnerships with government, the community and industry. We believe strongly that the decision about how we focus our attention as QRWN - and as rural women - is one that we should all have a say in. So we'll be trying a different approach to developing our strategy at this year's conference. Rather than "reinvent the wheel" by going over an issues identification process, we'd like to start with the issues list from the 2008 Rural Women's Symposium (to which many of us contributed). Session One: Finding The Root Cause Of The Problem We'll do a little thinking about what the underlying problems surrounding these issues are. We'll use a simple technique that you can learn and take with you, as you may like to use it on other areas of passion in life and reignite your energy for resolving issues and seizing opportunities. In its simplest form, the technique involves digging into the "why" until you find the final source of the problem (ie where you can no longer answer the question "why?"). Session Two: Organising Resources And Partnerships For Action In the second session we'll be exploring the resources we have available to organise action, partnerships, solutions, etc. Optional: bring photos to make it more interesting! This exercise is normally done with photos of resources - whether they are local facilities such as halls, laptops and community buses, organisations or government departments and people. So if you'd like to bring some photos with you, that would be wonderful - and much more fun!