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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

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2024 Entrants' Journey - July 2023

16/8/2023

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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.

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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.

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2024 Entrants' Journey - August 2023

2024 Entrants' Journey - July 2023

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