The Miss Wagga Wagga Quest - Entrant Blog

2025 Entrants' Journey - July 2025

16/9/2024

Hi it’s Gabby here, one of the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest 2025 Entrants. I have the privilege of sharing our July adventures with you all.

Firstly, let me tell you a bit about myself. I am a Wagga Wagga local, who decided to join the Quest to increase my confidence, give back to the community and meet new people. I had been asked to participate in the Quest in previous years and always declined. However, this year I decided to take a step out of my comfort zone and hesitantly signed the application forms. I have already gained a lot out of the Quest in the few months I have been involved.

I am fortunate to be sponsored by my workplace, Bush & Campbell Accountants, who have been very supportive of my journey in the Quest, which I am very thankful for.

July was a busy month for us all, with the highlight of the month being the running of our first fundraising event; a ‘Decades’ Trivia Night at our Gold Sponsor, the RSL Club. It was a successful night, and we are so grateful to all those who came along to support us, and to those who assisted with the organisation. We had a lot of fun, and also learnt a lot from the experience. For future events we know the importance of finalising the run sheet well in advance, as well as allocating plenty of time for setting up!

In July we also made a group blood/plasma donation, and signed up to the Bone Marrow Register, after an inspiring talk from Jenny Nixon. It was great to see so many people from the community donating also. If you are eligible to donate, please consider doing so.

We were also fortunate to receive an invitation to the Sarah Lloyd Scholarship Presentation. The Sarah Lloyd Scholarship Fund is a current Beneficiary of the Quest, and was also a Beneficiary last year. Last years’ funds were used to present Montana Breen with a scholarship. Entrants Amy, Maggie and Kat attended on our behalf. It is great to see our Beneficiaries in action making a difference.

Finally, at the end of a busy month all of the Entrants caught up to play ten pin bowling. Maggie, Belinda, Amy, Kat, Shauna and myself have become great friends throughout this experience and it was lovely to catch up in a relaxed setting.

It has been a great year so far, and there is still much to come. Tickets to our Malaysian Night on Friday 6 September are currently available, with tickets to our High Tea on the 22 September released soon. We will also be at the Union Club Hotel selling tickets to the meat tray raffles every Friday in August and would love to see you there!

Gabby Hewson
2025 Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Entrant.

2025 Entrants' Journey - June 2024

11/8/2024

Hello and welcome to our June recap for the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest 2025 Entrants blog!

My name is Amy and I am one of 6 entrants for this year. Originally from Deniliquin, I have lived in Wagga since I moved here for university to become a teacher over 10 years ago and am truly loving getting out and involved in my community since joining the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest. It has been a busy and exciting time so far in my journey with The Quest and I am really looking forward to seeing all of the amazing things that we can achieve together!

We began the Winter season celebrating my 30th birthday! It was so wonderful to have the support of my fellow entrants as I welcomed this milestone with a 90’s themed costume party. The following Sunday, we attended the Wagga Wagga annual Veteran and Vintage Car Club Rally at The Range Function Centre.

As a group of women who all have an affinity for heritage cars, we thoroughly enjoyed getting out and about and seeing all the stunning and lovingly restored vehicles. It was very special to be able to listen to the stories behind these much loved vehicles and their significance in the lives of the club members.

The following morning, myself, Gabby and Kathryn went along to assist with the Veteran and Vintage Car Club Breakfast, where we enjoyed serving the club members, having a chat and learning about where they had traveled from for this annual event. One of the highlights was being allowed to have our photo taken on the Melbourne Motor Omnibus Co. Ltd. double storey bus. This was very special as this 1912 Daimler CC bus is one of only two of the same kind, with the other located in England, and this one in Wagga, having been restored by Nixons Engineering.

It is understood that this is the oldest restored British-built commercial vehicle in Australia that can still travel on the road. During the month of June we also took part in selling tickets for the meat raffle at the Union Club Hotel every Friday night. We all had so much fun getting out there and chatting to patrons of the Union about The Quest and about our deserving beneficiaries and we can’t wait to do it all again in August and October! Each week, we take part in Entrant meetings where we discuss everything that we need to achieve in order to maximise the success of our fundraising for our beneficiaries.

On the 19th of June, we had the pleasure of welcoming Jenny Nixon to our meeting. Jenny came along to tell us her story and explain her journey through her blood cancer diagnosis and to raise awareness for the need for more blood and bone marrow donors as Australia does not have a very high percentage of donors in comparison to other countries. Listening to her story of courage and positivity truly allowed us to understand the beautiful light that is Jenny Nixon and to become motivated to advocate for this need. Throughout this month we also started introducing ourselves to businesses across the Wagga Wagga community and seeking support in the form of donations for our events.

We have been overwhelmed by the community spirit shown and the amount of people who are so willing to support us to create enticing events which strive to raise much needed funds so that we can help support the projects to be completed in our community by our beneficiaries.

Finishing off June, myself and fellow entrant, Shauna Lamotte, were fortunate to lend our assistance at the Amie St Clair Melanoma Trust Ball. This year was the 13th anniversary of the ball which boasted a ‘Gatsby’ theme. Shauna and I got dressed up in full theme, feather headbands, diamonds, pearls and elbow length gloves included, and were absolutely thrilled to be set to task. We met the beautiful Annette St Clair and Amanda ‘Moo’ Hubbard who both made us feel extraordinarily welcome. Greeting the astonishingly on-theme guests was a lot of fun as many people recognised the involvement of previous Miss Wagga Wagga Quest entrants in helping with the ball. This allowed us the opportunity to introduce ourselves to a variety of community members and discuss our goals for this year.

An absolute highlight was listening to the keynote speakers including Annette St Clair, and Australian of the Year, Professor Richard Scolyer. We learnt all about the legacy of the Amie St Clair Melanoma Trust Ball and the achievements that it has made including making available technology to assist in the detection of melanoma. I was truly inspired and in awe. We finished the rest of the night selling raffle tickets, helping out as ‘spotters’ for the live auction, and ended with dancing to the Australian Army Band Kapooka who put on an absolutely incredible performance!

We cannot thank the Amie St Clair committee for allowing us to contribute our assistance to this important event. It was an amazing experience and we are truly appreciative of it. We had the best time!

This month has been a busy one, but I am lucky to be able to go through all of this with some of the most supportive and wonderful women I have met. I think that we will have an incredible time developing our skills and personal development as we work together to raise much needed funds for our beneficiaries!

Thanks for reading my June blog!

Amy Hickey
2025 Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Entrant

2025 Entrants' Journey - May 2024

8/7/2024

Hello and welcome back to the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest entrant blog. I am Belinda, although most people just call me Max, and I will be taking you through our exciting time in May. Although there weren’t any major events this month, much like a swan’s legs paddling out of sight under water, there was a lot of work going on behind the scenes to set the entrants up for success over the next few months.

Before I start, I’ll tell you a bit about myself. I moved to Wagga in May of last year, and have felt so embraced by the people here that I immediately started to look for ways to give back to the community that has welcomed me with open arms. My sponsor for The Quest is Larry’s, a cafe on Best Street that has the best baristas in Wagga Wagga, as well as what I’m fairly sure are the most delicious macarons in the entire Riverina. Whatever challenges I may face during The Quest, I’m fairly sure that I’ll be fine just so long as I have one of their large lattes on hand.

After the excitement of launch night and the opportunity to be introduced to the Wagga Wagga community, May saw the entrants returning to the regular routine of professional development sessions once a week. It was a fantastic opportunity for us to learn the skills we will need to run our entrant events throughout the year, with the lessons on event planning being especially important as we started to plan out our Trivia Night. We were so lucky to be taught the basics by the fantastic Karly Flynn, we’re sure that it will serve us well as The Quest unfolds.

In the lead up to Mother’s Day, we were lucky enough to meet more members of the Wagga Wagga community as we wrapped presents for them at the Wagga Marketplace. It was lovely to see the thought that people put into the presents they were buying, and to hear the stories behind each present as we wrapped them. Every entrant was tested as they learnt to wrap unusually shaped gifts, from handbags to very soft scarfs. We know our families will be delighted to see the improvement of our gift wrapping skills come the holiday season.

Once we’d packed away our gift-wrap, sticky tape and ribbons, we were faced with one of the most exciting and terrifying experiences we could be faced with: a radio interview. The wonderful Alan Lean took us through the basics of speaking on radio. While we were very well supported by the lessons that we’d learn in March and April, the idea was still an intimidating prospect. Each of the entrants performed wonderfully, and have added yet another skill to their ever increasing toolkit. We’re sure you will all be thrilled to hear our dulcet tones on the radio as we promote our events over the next few months.

We were very lucky to be invited to a morning tea with one of our amazing beneficiaries; the Riding for the Disabled Association. We were all very lucky to be able to visit them at their facility and become more familiar with the amazing work that they do. Our beneficiaries are the entire reason for holding our events, and getting to see how much they benefit our community with their work has certainly driven us to do our best with our fundraising efforts.

We finished the month with a fond farewell to our current titleholders ahead of their visit to Leavenworth, Kansas. They will be wonderful representatives of the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest and the broader Wagga Wagga community in their time overseas.

We’ve had a fantastic month, and look forward to whatever the world may bring! Thank you so much for reading about our journey, and we’ll see you in the next one.

Belinda Kyatt, Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Entrant 2025

2025 Entrants' Journey - April 2024

7/5/2024

Welcome to the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest 2025!

Wednesday 13th March 2024, 5 Entrants (1 Entrant via zoom) shyly sat in the Bush and Campbell conference room unbeknownst to one another participated in ice breaker games, getting to know one another. Fast forward 7 weeks later, and we can hardly go a day without messaging each other daily. But let's go back to where it all started.

Before I begin to explain to you all about our Professional Development Workshops, I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I am the first Entrant, but you can call me Maggie. 😀 I was approached one night from fellow Entrant Amy Hickey, out at the Civic Theatre, that I should partake in the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest. I instantly said “No I could never do that!” However after listening to her explain what the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest is about, I said I would consider it. It was like an earworm that would not get out of my head. 2 days I expressed interest in joining and the rest as they say is history.

That first night listening to our chairperson Clare Lawlor speak about what exactly being involved in the Quest was like I thought “Yes this is something I want to be a part of.”

The other Entrants and I met up each Wednesday night learning a new skill that not only helped us prepare us for the year ahead by being in the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest, but also in our everyday lives.

We were lucky enough to visit Saan Burey at her salon Bare Skin Aesthetics learning about Confidence and feeling good in the skin you're in as well as visiting Ted and Olive Boutique to Decode the Dress Code with the owners Alex and Brenda. Whilst at Ted and Olive, Hayley and Emi, former Entrants of the Quest, provided a fun self care workshop reminding us how we can take care of ourselves throughout this journey.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Public Speaking and Speech Writing workshop with Jacob Webb, providing the Entrants and myself about what needs to be included in a speech and how to structure it, as well as some tips and tricks on what makes a great speech. This was one of my favourite workshops to participate in as Public Speaking is my biggest fear and I wanted to overcome this.

Lindsay and Ali Tanner thoroughly dived into Communication and Brand Development. Another workshop Ali taught us was about Dining and Table Etiquette. I found this session quite enjoyable as it allowed me to learn about correct etiquette, and cleared up any misunderstandings around dining.

Fiona Piltz provided us with an insightful look at Professional Personality. We all filled out a questionnare and explored the different types of personalities there are. After this we heard from Casey Wilson, who helped us further understand Social Media, such as what is trending, how to make reels and using it to promote our events we will be hosting throughout the year.

All these personal development sessions prepared us for our big night, our launch night!

On the night of our Launch we all delivered a speech on what Wagga Wagga means to us. We all had a mixed range of feelings that night. Nervousness, excitement, anticipation. One thing that helped me though on the night, was the support I felt from my fellow Entrants.

Throughout the night, we all took turns delivering our speeches in between courses of our meals that night. The night also required us to mingle with people we had never met before and meet some very important people such as the Mayor of Wagga Wagga, our Beneficiaries and members of the Quest Committee. We were able to use some of the skills we learned at our personal development sessions that led up to this evening.

I am still smiling looking back on our Launch night, which will forever hold a special place in my heart.

I would like to thank my Sponsor Chronicle Athlete and Development Centre for allowing me to take part in this exciting opportunity.

Thankyou for taking the time to read this blog about myself and the Entrants journey during the participation we undertook during our workshops.

Onto preparing our events for 2025!

Maggie Enever
2025 Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Entrant.

2024 Entrants' Journey - October 2023

27/10/2023

I am Jessica Cousley, your shortest Entrant in the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest 2024.

What a journey it has been.

I joined the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest to give back to my community, challenge myself as a person, learn about Wagga Wagga but mainly to be able to teach my son Levi to always help people who are in need.

I would like to thank My Chef Healthy Meals who are a locally owned business in Wagga Wagga for sponsoring me in the Quest this year. Frank and Zoe you really are something special, I wish you all the best with your future business endeavors and Frank I hope you enjoy your second place raffle prize, Congratulations you lucky fella.

The month of October started off with preparing for our last event which was High Tea, a sold out event held at Gumly Hall.
The community rallied together to cook up some delicious treats for 110 guests, each Entrant had a kitchen volunteer and they were beyond amazing. I personally learnt that I require a crash course in waitressing. We were honoured to have special guests attend the High Tea, Aaron and Tahnee McCarthy and Tammy Vaughn who shared their inspiring stories. I believe this was one of the highlights of the day.

Later in the month, Salwa, Velika, Mikayla and myself caught up with Daniel Lloyd from The Sarah Lloyd Scholarship Fund who are one of our beneficiaries this year. Daniel shared his passion for helping women in male dominant trades, along with discussing what the Scholarship Fund is about. Hearing Mr Lloyd speak about his beautiful daughter Sarah brought a tear to my eye and had me reflecting on how lucky I am to be a mum. Visiting each beneficiary this year has really opened my eyes to how grateful I am.

To wrap it all up, The Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Crowning Ceremony will be held at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery on 4 November 2023. I can definitely say that all Entrants are looking forward to celebrating a fabulous rewarding year with our friends and family. I am personally looking forward to putting on my sparkly ball gown and being able to celebrate a successful year of fundraising alongside such powerful, strong women.

Thank you so very much to the Wagga Wagga Community for all the support you have given throughout the Quest this year.

Jessica Cousley
Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Entrant 2024

2024 Entrants' Journey - September 2023

27/10/2023

My name is Jess Barclay, and I am one of the Entrants in the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest 2024.

This year I joined the Quest to gain a deeper amount of self-confidence, grow as an individual but most importantly give back to local organisations.
Throughout the Quest, I have been fortunate enough to be sponsored by Raine & Horne Real Estate. Starting as a Receptionist, transitioning to Leasing Consultant just two months after starting, to now being a Sales Associate it is fair to say I would not have been able to progress without the team at Raine & Horne. My work colleagues have gone from being strangers, to friends to now my chosen family and I could not think of a better workplace to spend my days with.

We started the month of September off with our third major fundraising event – The Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Entrant’s Barefoot Lawn Bowls. We were lucky enough to have sunshine after a week of rain, and from there we knew it was going to be a great day. Family, friends, sponsors, and community members gathered at the Wagga RSL Club, one of our Gold Sponsors, to support myself and my fellow Entrants. Jez Swan provided live music, and we could not fault him, he was spectacular - be sure to check out his social media pages! The greens were filled with laughter, happiness and smiles from all those involved, everyone cheering on the participants playing. We ended the afternoon with a Bowl Off between Entrants and Beneficiaries, with the one and only Mr Lloyd from the Sarah Lloyd Scholarship Foundation taking out the win. The Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Entrant Lawn Bowl afternoon was a great success, a day of bonding and friendly competition, that I will forever look back on.

The following week we held a free Meat Taste Event, at Charles Sturt University. Although I dislike meat, I managed to sit through the hour and try the 8 samples we were provided with. Although the overall feedback from the individuals who attended was really positive, I can still confirm this has unfortunately not changed my liking for meat. Many individuals came and filled the room to support The Miss Wagga Wagga Quest, and we would like to say a massive thank you to all involved!

Throughout September, we have been holding Raffle Ticket Stalls at the Kooringal Mall and South City to sell raffle tickets for our Major Raffle. The tickets sold not only provide funds for our chosen Beneficiaries, but also enable the community a chance to win incredible prizes that have all been generously donated. The spirit and giving and community support has been evident as individuals continue to buy tickets to contribute to this great cause. Our Major Raffle will be drawn at the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Entrants sold out High Tea Event, on Sunday 15 October.

Mayor Dallas Tout kindly donated his time one night to conduct a Professional and Personal Development Session, where he spoke about volunteering and the importance of giving back to the community in our own ways. We shared our individual histories and discussed how our families and connections have represented what volunteering and servicing the community means to different individuals.

The Entrants, Committee and I have been busy planning our final event, the famous High Tea. This year, we have come together to host a “Spring Has Sprung” themed High Tea Event, that will be held at The Gumly Hall. This is known to be a popular event, and that was clear with tickets selling out within just a few weeks of being on sale. This event is going to be big, with live music by Harry Mangelsdorf, inspiring guest speakers, spectacular prizes, some delicious treats, and most importantly the draw of our ongoing Major Raffle. We cannot wait! We look forward to seeing those who will be attending and thank you for your continuous support.

At the start of the year, when the Quest first kicked off, I was scared and nervous, it felt like it was going to last forever, however with less than 4 weeks to go, I can confirm that the year has flown and I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my Miss Wagga Wagga Quest experience.

I will be walking away with lifelong skills, memories, and not only friendships, but a family bond.

2024 Entrants' Journey - August 2023

31/8/2023

I’m Velika, one of the Entrants in the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest 2024.

I joined the Quest this year to give back to the community through hard work and dedication, as well as challenge my own personal growth and step out of my comfort zone.

I’d like to thank my sponsor New Directions Disability Service for allowing me the opportunity to be part of this Quest. In this month's blog I’d like to give an outlook on all the events that we were involved in during August.

August started off with a Bunnings BBQ fundraiser that was great fun! We would like to thank all the businesses that donated to us that made that event possible. We would also like to thank everyone who purchased a sausage and a cold drink from us! The same night, Entrants Jessica Cousley and Poppy Vandamark were lucky enough to go to 2AAA FM and join Alan Lean on his Saturday night music request show.

The following weekend Entrants were invited to the Wagga Wagga Golden Crow Awards and the BrAshA-T Ball. I was lucky enough to attend the Golden Crow Awards on Friday 11 August with fellow Entrant Jessica and Miss Wagga Wagga 2023 Kate Pevere. We had a fun night mingling with guests and we were happy to see one of our sponsors, Macarthur Real Estate take home the Excellence in Large Business Award. The following night on Saturday 12 August, Entrants Poppy and Salwa attended the BrAshA-T Ball. The Entrants were pleased to be invited to represent the Quest at an event that raised funds for such an important and well deserving cause.

The next week the Entrants visited one of our this year's beneficiaries, The Leisure Company. The Leisure Company has been operating for over 30 years and teaches lifestyle skills to people with a disability. We were lucky enough to have a tour of the facilities and even watched a special dance show performed at the end of the visit by two participants. We thank the Leisure Company for taking the time to show us their facility.

Throughout the month of August we have had the opportunity to sell raffle tickets for our major raffle at different local venues. On Friday 18 August Jessica and Salwa were at South City Shopping Centre, and myself and Ali Tanner, the Chair of the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Committee were at Kooringal mall. Myself, Jess and Salwa also attended the River and Wren Markets on Saturday 27 August and sold lots of raffle tickets. We will also be selling tickets on Friday 15 September at the Kooringal Mall and South City Shopping Centre. Tickets will be sold at our fundraising events and are available to purchase online through the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest website. The raffle will be drawn at our High Tea event on the 15th of October. You do not want to miss out on a chance to win these prizes! Thank you to the Wagga Wagga Caravan Centre for the fabulous Weber BBQ, which is first prize .

To wrap it all up, on Saturday 26 August we held our second major fundraising event - The Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Entrants Long Lunch. This event included a live and silent auction that were both a great hit. We had beautiful singing from Madi Popple and guest speakers Kylie Shaw and Joel Tracey, who were there ready to entertain the room. The venue looked stunning and the food was amazing. We were very pleased to have over 100 guests at this event, to help raise much needed funds for our beneficiaries. We had the opportunity to speak about our beneficiaries and why we joined the Quest, and overcome the fear of public speaking that I know many of us have.

Currently, myself and fellow Entrants are busy planning our next event that is just around the corner - Barefoot Bowls on Saturday September 9 at the RSL Club Wagga. Tickets are on sale now on Humantix https://events.humanitix.com/mwwq-barefoot-bowls.

We also have a free Meat Taste event coming up, keep an eye out on our socials for more information to come.

I think it is fair to say that August has been a busy, but very rewarding month for us all. With less than 10 weeks to go, we are definitely sad to see it all coming to an end but are so excited to see what’s to come for the remainder of our journey in the Quest. Be sure to follow our socials so you don’t miss what myself and my fellow Entrants get up to in the next month!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissWaggaWaggaQuest
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misswaggawaggaquest/?hl=en

Velika Hayes
Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Entrant 2024

2024 Entrants' Journey - July 2023

16/8/2023

I am Poppy, another Entrant in the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest 2024. In this blog post I’d like to give you the rundown on all of the amazing activities the Entrants have been up to over the past month.

July feels like the most jam-packed but rewarding month of the Quest adventure so far. After many months of planning, meetings and preparation not only did we Entrants host our first fundraising event, but we also had the opportunity to really cultivate our public speaking skills across many different mediums. We continued preparations for upcoming events in early August such as the Bunnings Barbecue, and to top it all off - enjoyed a dash of self-care sprinkled in. It was an action packed month to say the least!

Firstly I want to congratulate all the Entrants on our first fundraising event - our Christmas in July themed Trivia Night. As our first event there were a lot of nitty gritty details to address for the first time so it was definitely a stretch for all of us. We learnt that before an event it’s essential to practice a run-through and dedicate time for setting up and of course packing down on the night. All of these components are extra bits and pieces that are essential to bringing an event to life.

The Entrants are so incredibly proud that we had over 200 guests at this event, and were so pleased with the funds raised on the night. It was the first time since Launch we all got together, dressed up and had the opportunity to speak on the microphone in front of a couple hundred people. This was an experience I know for most of us is something we never imagined we would do. All of the ladies played their part perfectly to bring this first event to life.

Although I was unable to attend, the rest of the Entrants were photographed and interviewed with a few quotes to be given to the Daily Advertiser. An article was published highlighting the role of Entrants in the Quest. Being interviewed for the paper was something that many of the Entrants have never done, and all naturally excelled in of course.

In addition to Trivia Night and interviews for the Daily Advertiser, the Entrants were also invited to speak on radio. 2AAA broadcasts a Saturday night show hosted by Alan Lean which for the last few weeks has featured two Entrants at a time as guest speakers. I participated with my fellow entrant Jessica Cousley, and it was a little bit daunting, but we did really well to make sure that we stuck to our purpose and message. Above all, we had a little bit of fun with it given the casual setting with Alan. Both my own and Jess’ families were listening and even made a few song suggestions. It was so fun giving a shout out to my loved ones at home.

Triple MMM Riverina also gave Entrants an incredible opportunity to speak live on radio. I got to speak on the morning breakfast show with Jamie and Leigh who asked questions such as why I joined the Quest, a little bit about who I am and an opportunity to share with the community our upcoming events and thank our sponsors. Talking on radio has been so fruitful for all of us, and with every event and every little project like the interviews for Daily Advertiser and talking on radio has helped to develop each of our voices. Each Entrant is really starting to flourish with confidence as we become the successful, articulate women that we all truly are inside.

Amongst all of these amazing activities, one Saturday morning was spent with Katrina Dorward at her stunning Karma Garden Yoga Studio in Lake Albert. It was really nice to have a chance to do something totally peaceful and relaxed with the Entrants and Committee together. It’s what we all really needed after our amazing (but very late night!) hosting Trivia. We are all really looking forward to the Long Lunch coming up on 26 August. After the success of Trivia Night, hosting the Long Lunch feels a little bit less daunting. We’ve done it before, so we know we’re capable. We know how to get the job done and I’m really excited to see our second event come to life.

Entrants Jessica C, Caitlin, Salwa and myself also had the privilege of visiting one of our Beneficiaries, Ronald McDonald House Wagga Wagga. It was so inspiring to see firsthand one of the places that benefit from all the hard work we put in this year. Lisa, the Director of Ronald McDonald House Wagga Wagga, gave us a tour of their facility and we even got to meet some of the children who are currently staying at the house. She gave us a breakdown of how the organisation works and where their funding comes from, and really helped us to recognise how much they appreciate and require our support. This trip really made all the things we are doing feel extra worthwhile.

A special thank you to Amanda from Simp-Lee Yoga and Massage Studio for her support of my Quest journey. Entrant Sponsors enable women to experience all the Quest has to offer.

Last of all, I want to acknowledge that support from the Committee has been integral in helping me during times that I have felt really stretched in positive ways. Indeed, the Quest pushes your boundaries in a healthy way to show you that you can do so much more than you ever dreamed you were capable of. I’ve grown and learnt so much just in the seven months that the Quest has been unfolding and it is an experience I’m so grateful to have had the privilege to be a part of.

2024 Entrants' Journey - June 2023

23/7/2023

Chowani Bashi (Hello)

My name is Salwa and I am an Entrant in the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest 2024. I moved from Iraq to Wagga Wagga in 2018 with my family. I am studying English at TAFE. I joined the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest to become more involved in the community and help others in need because I was very supported by the community when I arrived here. My favourite part of being an Entrant so far is meeting new people and learning new skills in the wide range of professional and personal development sessions. Thank you to Eyecare Plus Optometrist Wagga Wagga for sponsoring me in the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest.

In June, the Entrants were busy collecting donations and organising our upcoming events; Christmas in July Trivia Night, Bunnings BBQ, Long Lunch and High Tea, as well as a major raffle with details to be announced soon. We will be selling the tickets for the meat tray raffles at the Union Club Hotel in Wagga Wagga on Friday nights for the month of July - we hope to see you there!

On the June long weekend, Caitlin, Jess, Poppy, Chelsea, (Entrants), Kate (Miss Wagga Wagga 2023), Haylee (Community Princess 2023), and myself attended the Wagga Wagga Veteran and Vintage Motor Club rally. This was a great experience and we helped to sell raffle tickets and helped serve food for breakfast and an afternoon tea.

Haylee, (Community Princess 2023) and Mikayla (Entrant) attended the Amie St Clair Winter Wonderland Ball. They assisted with tasks on the night and had a fantastic time. This event raises awareness of melanoma and raises funds for support services for melanoma patients. Thank you to the Amie St Clair Melanoma organisation for inviting the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest to be part of this event.

Amanda at The Simp-Lee Yoga and Massage Centre has very generously offered to run a Karma Yoga class on the last Friday of each month, to support our fundraising efforts. The first class was held on Friday 30 June 2023.

The family of local woman, Elizabeth Shaw, have been longtime supporters of the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest. Recently, Elizabeth was diagnosed with Aplastic Anaemia and there is a blood drive to support her journey with this disease. You can donate at any Red Cross Blood Bank in Australia and ask for your donation to go to “Lizzie’s Legends” in support of Elizabeth. I gave my first blood donation in support and I encourage others to make an appointment as well.

I hope to see you at one of our events this year!

Salwa Sulaiman
Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Entrant 2024

2024 Entrants' Journey - May 2023

27/6/2023

Chelsea Burgess Hannon - Awaiting Submission.

Authors

Do you want to know what it is like to be an Entrant in the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest?

Each month one of our lovely Entrants will be the guest author of this blog. They will share their experiences and give you the 'inside scoop' - from their Personal and Professional Development Workshops, Launch preparation, Fundraising adventures, and of course the lead up to Crowning.

Archives

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