Since being lucky enough to be selected as one of the 2017 Rural Achievers and the 2017/2018 NSW Rural Ambassador, it has been a complete whirlwind. I have truly experienced “busy”; travelling by car, train, plane and even Uber to get to shows and engagements near and far. I have met some amazing people on the journey and had some fantastic experiences.
Since April this year, I have attended agricultural shows across the state, joined the ASC Next Generation Executive Committee and attended the NSW Farmers’ rural affairs executive committee meeting.
The next few months will see me attending the annual Showman’s Guild of Australia Think Tank panel discussion in Queensland, the Queensland Ag Shows Conference and most importantly to me, addressing my local high school and community at their end of year assembly.
When I applied for the Rural Achiever award, I made no pretext in saying that my passion was for the health and welfare of rural communities and improving their access to specialist medical professionals and services. I have successfully been able to use my role as NSW Rural Ambassador as a platform to educate my peers and colleagues as to the significance of the health inequalities between rural and urban communities and the impact this has on individuals, family units, communities and businesses.
Furthermore, I feel I have been able to empower and educate individuals, peak agricultural lobby groups and community groups about what is involved in getting more health services to their area and why it is so important and necessary to have good access to specialist medical services.
The Rural Achiever award is a leadership program for people showing dedication and passion to their rural communities and the industries that support those communities, namely the agricultural and primary production industries.
The Rural Achiever competition provides a platform for young people to speak to leaders in industry, government and peak lobby groups to express their thoughts on issues effecting rural communities and exact positive change. I believe that a healthy rural community leads to a productive agricultural industry.
I am optimistic that the link between the health and agricultural industries is gaining traction in both sectors for the betterment of the regions and I am very keen to be helping to lead the way.
Moving forward in my role as NSW Rural Ambassador, I hope to continue to meet new people and continue my own professional and personal development as a leader within my community and profession. I would like to continue to raise the profile of the link between agriculture and primary production and the health of rural communities and in doing so empower rural communities to campaign for more in terms of specialist medical services and equity in their provision.
- Emily Clapham, who is the 2017 Rural Achiever and NSW Rural Ambassador, is a new columnist in The Land.
