Show Time!
Liz Munn
Many thanks to Liz Munn, president of the Leeton Show Society, for coming along to Thursday night's meeting to give an up-date on Leeton Show preparations. This year will be the 103rd Leeton Show and promises to be every bit as fun as the previous 102. The main event will feature the Eljay Freestyle motorbikes and along with the Friday night fireworks and other usual events there will also be a Doggie High-Jump competition.
Liz is passionate about returning the annual event to it's agricultural origins and a celebration of the town's heritage. Through her tenacity and dogged determination (yes, pun intended), the society has received a grant from the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW and sponsorship from local businesses Yenda Producers and Hi-Marq of Leeton. The money has built and equipped a trailer to run the Dog High-Jump competition as well as Farmers Challenge events such as tug-o-war, wife carrying and gumboot toss. The trailer and equipment will be available to smaller local shows it the area and has already seen great success at the Ardlethan show. Liz and her committee are always open to suggestions on how to get more young people involved with the show and any ways in which the show can continue to grow through community group support.
Rural Outreach Counselling
Pat Tripodi
The club was also honoured with a presentation by Rural Outreach Counselling (ROC) president Pat Tripodi. Pat spoke of the significant social impact on people living on the farm and in rural communities brought on by the prolonged drought. Isolation, erosion of income, increased workloads, physical and mental health issues, and problematic and overloaded access to services amount to a near mental health crisis in the bush. Rural Outreach Counselling is a not-for-profit, community funded mental health counselling support service that focuses on sufferers and their families living in rural and remote areas. Their mission is to identify persons at risk through their MateKeepers program and then provide experienced counsellors to assess and work with individuals or families in need of support.