Where else to begin other than the Official Launch night? The lead up to the launch definitely had my and a few of the other girls stomachs in knots. The feeling of knowing that in just a few days you will be standing up in front of a crowd filled with strangers, friends, family and fellow entrants to talk about “what Wagga Wagga means to me” was indescribable. By this time we all had our dresses selected and the matching shoes ready to parade but the nerves and excitement had only grown. We all made our way to the venue before the Launch commenced to get the final touches perfected before presenting ourselves and I must say everyone looked absolutely fabulous! Before long we were seated and socialising awaiting our time to get up and do our five minute speech. Each entrant’s speech was filled with individualism and was presented extremely well. I can definitely say that walking up to the podium to prepare for my speech the only thing I was thinking was don’t trip over in front of EVERYONE and thankfully I succeeded. As soon as I began talking the nerves melted away and I actually enjoyed speaking in front of a hefty crowd. Public speaking is not one of my strong suits but I definitely escaped my comfort zone that evening and I feel as if the personal development had really begun. Dinner was brilliant and speaking to the guests of the evening was just fantastic. It was great to get out and speak to different community members, it was enlightening. The very next day we all saw our pictures uploaded to introduce ourselves and some of the interviews that were conducted were also portrayed. That was definitely a strange feeling to see yourself out there like that but nevertheless it aided in stepping into spotlight for the very first time. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening with the girls and believe it was more than prosperous.
As the days continued on, fellow entrants had the opportunity to be interviewed, and visit some of our beneficiaries for the year. Stina conducted an interview with Oscar Wills, producer of the ABC breakfast radio show on debunking quest myths and discussing cultural barriers. The Loretto Home of Compassion was the first beneficiary to be met and four of our lovely entrants had the chance to engage with the community. This was then followed by a trip to Country Hope, another beneficiary, and finally the Forrest Centre was visited. We continue to organise times to meet the remaining beneficiaries to see just who we will be helping and how we will do so.
As we delved deeper into the month of May, we begun getting together to organise the very first event for the year. I would like to make one thing very clear:
SAVE THE DATE FOR THE 13th of JULY 2018 AT 1830!
This will be our very first event and we are all so excited for it to come! We will be piloting a Trivia night at the Que Bar. More information in regards to the event will be released very very shortly but make sure you are available to come, it is going to be a great night.
To my fellow entrants: Girls we have already come so far and I couldn’t be more proud of what we have begun to and will continue to achieve. It is going to be a prosperous year and I am so glad to have met you all on this journey. We will endure to become the best selves we can be and I am so honoured that it will be with you!
That’s just about it for May, I hope you enjoyed catching up with where the Miss Wagga Wagga Quest is currently at and hope to meet some of you at our first event!
- Taylor Lemmon
Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Entrant