Forbes Showgirl, Sally Downie, travelled to Sydney this week to represent our town in the Sydney Royal Showgirl competition.

She was announced as a finalist at the Zone 6 Regional Showgirl Finals earlier this year.

The state finals will take place throughout the course of the Sydney Royal Easter Show that started this week. It is the second consecutive year that Forbes will have their Showgirl representing our town at the prestigious event.

Sally is looking forward to the planned activities. “The itinerary is pretty full. We start off with a welcome lunch and a visit to Westmead Hospital, attend a personal development workshop and a dinner with the ASC.

We’ll also be going to Government House for a reception and Parliament House. We also do a members preview of the show the night before it opens,” said Sally.

“Friday is judging day so that will be our interviews and visiting the Show Pavilions.

We are also involved with the grand opening and grand parade, on stage interviews and presentations and we get to spend time with the Rural Achievers,” continued Sally.

Sally hasn’t let nerves get the better of her and says that she is feeling relaxed about the competition. “I’ve been told to just be myself and enjoy the experience. I never expected to get this far and it’s been an amazing journey so I’m just excited to experience the competition, meet all the other girls and represent Forbes and Zone 6 and agriculture,” said Sally.

The annual Open Day of the Forbes Flying Club was held last Sunday with a couple of hundred people attending the day. After unfavourable weather on Saturday, the exceedingly successful Open Day was met with clear skies and good flying conditions.

This year the club’s Open Day was held in conjunction with Bush Flyers Down Under in order to help raise funds for prostate cancer by running a fundraiser barbeque.

“The club was very happy to help raise funds for such a worthwhile cause,” said Mary Ewing, Forbes Flying Club Secretary and private pilot. “We are still finalising the numbers from the barbeque fundraiser but estimate that almost $800 was raised for this initiative during our Open Day!”

The club was thrilled with the fantastic response from the Forbes community with hundreds of people coming out over the course of the day. Crowds attending the day enjoyed taking part and admiring the aircrafts.

“Over two dozen aircraft flew in from Cowra, Parkes, West Wyalong and other surrounding areas to take part in the day, which was a terrific outcome!” said Mary.

“The club’s Foxbat aircraft was kept busy all day long doing trial instructional flights with potential students,” she continued.

The Forbes Flying Club would very much like to thank all those who helped with the day and all those who came out from town and showed their support in helping to raise funds for a very deserving cause.

The annual Forbes Rugby Club President’s Lunch was an event that will have its attendees talking about it until next year’s Lunch comes along. The event that is the Rugby Union Club’s major fundraiser took place last Saturday and sported a colossal marquee on the Grinstead Oval to accommodate the more than 1,000 people that helped in raising approximately $50,000.

Chris Sweeney, Committee Chair of Forbes Rugby Club President’s Lunch said that they couldn’t be happier with the success of the event.

“It was an outstanding event. The food was magnificent and the entertainment provided by this year’s guest speaker, Anh Do, was extraordinary!” said Chris. Anh Do had guests enthralled with the story of how he and his family first arrived in Australia many years ago.

Chris remarks that the support for this event has been phenomenal. “The support in the auctions was unbelievable and a tribute to the many outstanding supporters of the Club and Lunch. During the auctions, $40,000 was raised. We look forward to announcing the beneficiaries of the fundraising shortly,” said Chris.

Chris is very thankful to his committee and the Rugby Club Committee for their great support in putting this lunch together.

Thanks also goes to the Rural Fire Service, the Forbes High School team of boys that came along and the Forbes Men Shed who supported the event with their assistance.

Also, thanks and appreciation goes to the wonderful sponsors for their fantastic support of this event.

Flannery’s Pharmacy has been named Guild Pharmacy of the Year 2019. The awards were presented by the Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, at the Australian Pharmacy Professional conference (APP) held on the Gold Coast last Thursday.

The Guild Pharmacy of the Year Award, conducted annually by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, recognises pharmacies that are leading the way in providing innovative and optimal healthcare for members of their community. The ultimate winner was chosen from the four category winners who this year were:

• Pharmacy 777 Glengarry, Duncraig WA: Excellence in Community Engagement, Collaboration and Partnerships

• Wilkinson’s Pharmacy, Burnie TAS: Excellence in Community Engagement, Health Services

• Flannery’s Pharmacy, Forbes NSW: Excellence in Business Management

• Harding’s 24 hour Pharmacy, Annerley QLD: Excellence in Professional Innovation A spokesperson for the judging group, pharmacist Nick Panayiaris, Pharmacy Guild of Australia National Councillor and President of the South Australian Branch of the Guild, said Flannery’s Pharmacy was an exceptional example of the pharmacy of the future.

“The pharmacy’s excellent business operations and its investment in its people has established a great working environment with a strong emphasis on delivering a wide range of professional services to the community,” said Nick.

“Its refurbished design provides consulting space for other health professionals to provide services to the community from the pharmacy.”

Nick said Flannery’s Pharmacy was constantly looking to innovate and improve its service offer for the community.

The National President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, George Tambassis, said Flannery’s Pharmacy was a great example of a pharmacy’s commitment to the community.

“The pharmacy is dedicated to the people of Forbes and surrounding areas and has invested to secure its future and the future of the services it provides its patients and customers,” he said.

“Flannery’s Pharmacy shows the heights that can be achieved by planning for, and committing to a strong community pharmacy sector into the future.”

As the team accepted the award, pharmacy partner Sarah Hazell said: “Our motto at Flannery’s Pharmacy is putting the community back into community pharmacy.

We know it’s just as important to provide a listening ear to our patients in need as it is to dispense their prescriptions.”

Sarah also congratulated the other finalists, the Guild for hosting APP and the competition, QCPP assessor and the competition judges, and most of all, the team at Flannery’s.

“They are the most wonderful group of people,” she said, calling the team “the most positive, engaged, loyal, trustworthy, and clever people to work with. They’re such a warm, friendly and welcoming environment for our customers to come to for all their health care needs.”

“We are absolutely thrilled to be the 2019 Pharmacy of the Year.”

A new commercial precinct is set to add life and entertainment to Forbes thanks to almost $870,000 in funding under Round 3 of the Federal Liberal and Nationals Government’s highly successful Building Better Regions Fund.

Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack visited Forbes last Sunday and said that the precinct would create an exciting community space for visitors and locals to enjoy.

“With over five locations, we’ll be building new gardens and green spaces, upgrading signs, installing new banners and line-marking. Bicycle stands will be added along with new seats, public toilets and drinking fountains,” said Michael.

“I’m particularly excited to see a new popup café coming to town, as well as a pergola and playground with a soft fall surface to make sure all children have fun but most importantly they can play safe.

“It is projects such as the Forbes Commercial Precinct that make our regional communities even better places to live, work and raise a family and I’m excited to see the positive difference this funding will make to the community.”

“We are supporting our regions through investing in important local infrastructure, as well as great community-building and planning initiatives under the Building Better Regions Fund and other Government priorities such as the Regional Growth Fund and our decentralisation agenda.

“We have seen fantastic outcomes from the first two rounds, and today’s announcement continues our commitment to unlocking the economic potential of regional Australia and ensuring our regions continue to thrive.”

By Gizell van Wyk

Farmers in the Forbes community will benefit from the launch of an Agricultural Strategy made possible through $70,000 funding received in round one of the Building Better Regions Fund – Community Investments Stream.

Forbes Shire Council is the first Local Government in NSW to launch an agricultural strategy, which was unveiled at the Central West Livestock Exchange on Monday.

In 2017 Forbes Shire Council identified the need for a strategy to manage how the shire moves forward in the Agricultural sector.

The Forbes Shire Council Local Government Area is one of the most productive agricultural areas in NSW, with the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector our largest industry in terms of output, valued at $183 million and provides approximately 18 percent of the local employment opportunities.

Forbes Shire Council engaged the services of professional service company GHD to work with local producers and key stakeholders in the rural industry to develop a long-term strategy to grow agriculture in the region.

Attending the launch was Riverina MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Michael McCormack whom secured the funding through round one of the Building Better Regions Fund – Community Investments Stream. He commended the milestone event.

“Our farmers are the best environmentalists in the world, make no mistake about it,” said Michael. “Today’s launch of the Forbes Agricultural Strategy is an important step to tackle a number of important opportunities and challenges which face the rural community.

I commend Forbes Council for taking the initiative to organise this important guideline which was made possible through this Federal funding.”

The Agriculture Strategy covers many sectors in the industry, including all livestock, dairy, hemp, forestry, horticulture and agritourism.

“It also focuses on other challenges,” said Mayor of Forbes Shire Council, Phyllis Miller.

“The Strategy is multi-faceted in its approach; considering land-use planning, land capability and water availability.”

“Supply chain impediments need to be removed to increase productivity. Transport infrastructures including commodity routes are among the key areas we need to look at in the near future,” said Phyllis.

The Strategy also addresses the fact that Inland Rail will open up access to other ports for the Agriculture industry in the Forbes District with direct access to Brisbane and Melbourne via rail.

“The Central West Livestock Exchange has enjoyed ongoing capital improvements recently. The $3.9 million extension of the cattle yards, B-Double and road train parking areas make the facility one of the largest modern selling centres in NSW,” said Phyllis.

“Continued focus on improving efficiency and profitability will ensure maximum returns in the future. This is all part of the strategy.”

Forbes Showgirl, Sally Downie, moved a step closer to the state finals of the Land Royal Showgirl competition after being announced as a finalist in the Zone 6 Regional Showgirl Finals held in Young last Saturday evening.

Sally, along with 22 other hopefuls attended the ceremony hosted by the Young Show Society for the Agricultural Societies Council of NSW.

She was accompanied to the event by her partner David Turner and his grandmother, Elaine. Forbes Show President, Doug Nadin and numerous other Forbes Show Society members also came out to support Sally. The CWA evening branch sent a card and a donation, showing very much appreciated support to her.

“It was a great night! The Young Show Society did a great job of putting it on,” said Sally.

Sally’s win came very unexpected to her. “I’m shocked I got through but it was a nice surprise. If you had told me I’d be doing this a year ago, I wouldn’t have believed it! The whole process wasn’t even daunting this time. I enjoyed it and have certainly learnt a lot from the process, especially how to use my voice to stand up for what I believe in,” she said.

“The girls I met were all amazing and are doing great things. They have a lot of passion for their community, so I think any of them could have gone through. It’s an honour and I hope I can do Forbes proud and uphold our strong Showgirl history,” said Sally.

In answer to how she will prepare for the next big round: “I don’t really know how to prepare. I know I’ve got some shopping to do as jeans and boots probably won’t quite cut it. I guess I’m kept well in the loop with what’s going on with my role at Council and I’m always listening to the Country Hour and so forth, so that helps.

“I just really want to use the opportunity as a way to promote Forbes. To show that the Showgirl movement isn’t a beauty pageant but an important part of our local shows and a way for young women to be involved in their community and learn life skills. Also for me, it is a space to talk about mental health in regional/rural areas,” she said.

Sally grew up on a family dairy farm and completed her schooling in Forbes. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Agriculture at CSU. She is passionate about agriculture and helping local farmers through tough times. Her aim is to see the industry prosper and continue to develop.

Sally was recently appointed by the Forbes Shire Council as the Drought Coordinator and spent the weekend before
last in Canberra promoting her Grassroots Blueprint initiative to political leaders.

Dubbo’s Showgirl, Josie Anderson and Coonamble’s Emily Ryan were also selected.

The state finals will take place throughout the course of the Sydney Royal Easter Show starting on 12th April. It is the second consecutive year that Forbes will have their Showgirl representing our town at the prestigious event.

According to an excerpt from the Rules and Regulations of Showgirl Competitions, “The aim of the Showgirl Competition is to find a person most suited to represent young rural women of NSW. The young lady must be articulate and presentable with a pleasant personality. She will be required to meet a wide variety of people
and should be able to converse intelligently about Australia in general and in particular her own district.”

By Gizell van Wyk

The BOSCARS Forbes Business Awards gala dinner once again shone light on some of our best local businesses and their employees.

The dinner was held last Friday evening at the Forbes Services Memorial Club and with its charismatic theme a ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ attendees arrived in their best attire.

The BOSCARS are the premier business recognition event in Forbes and is presented by the Forbes Business Chamber. The awards celebrate businesses in the Forbes region and publicly promote and reward business excellence.

The category winners were:

• Excellence in Business (20 or more employees): Powertools Plus

• Excellence in Social Enterprise: Kate Ralph of Elevate Dance Studio

• Excellence in Small Business (under 20 employees): Flannery’s Pharmacy

• Excellence in Innovation: Life Pharmacy

• Employer of Choice: Flannery’s Pharmacy

• Apprentice or Trainee of the Year: Jessica Byrnes of HE Silos

• Business Leader of the Year: Debbie Prior of Flannery’s Pharmacy

• Employee of the Year: Michelle Grace of Flannery’s Pharmacy

• Young Entrepreneur (Age 18-35): Kristen Woods of Kristen’s Dance Studio

• Start Up Superstar: Made of Fridays

• People’s Choice Tradie of the Year: Anita Wesley of Forbes Vet Clinic

• People’s Choice Most Popular Business: Sweet Three Vintage Van

The BOSCARS Business of the Year is awarded to the most outstanding business which has demonstrated excellence across all areas of operation. The winner is selected from the winners of all categories. This year, Flannery’s Pharmacy was named Business of the Year.

The severe drought has been impacting farming activities in the Forbes district and support measures have become vital for farming businesses. In response to these conditions, Forbes Shire Council has recently appointed Sally Downie as a Drought Coordinator.

As the Drought Coordinator, Sally will be a key liaison point on all things drought related for community members, council staff and key stakeholders and will assist council in developing and achieving drought related goals.

“The primary role for our Drought Coordinator is to be an ‘open door’, listen to the community and understand their concerns,” said General Manager, Steve Loane. “By bringing the relevant people together to support each other when they need it most and together forming solid strategies.”

Sally is a Forbes local, growing up on a family dairy farm and completing her schooling in Forbes. In 2018 Sally was named Forbes Showgirl and is currently studying a Bachelor of Agriculture at CSU.

As the drought continues to impact our area, work available for farmers is reduced and therefore limiting their income. Forbes Shire Council has developed a unique initiative to assist, offering farmers and farm related trades temporary paid casual working positions with the aim of supporting them during this tough time.

Currently, several farm-trade workers have begun work on the various projects set out in this initiative. The flexible hours and conditions enable farmers to care for their stock whilst earning an income off the farm.

The Botanical Gardens Sportsground in Forbes is one of the region’s most utilised sporting grounds. Parliamentary Secretary for Western NSW, Rick Colless last week presented a cheque of $135,264 that will go towards building Stage 2 of new amenities, including change rooms at the Botanic Gardens.

Announcing the grant, Rick said the Infrastructure grants provided funding for sport and recreation facilities such as these.

The new amenities and change rooms are marked to be built this year.

“This upgrade has been on Council’s radar or many years and it is wonderful for our town to be able to implement it,” said Forbes Mayor, Phyllis Miller OAM. “The grounds are used by over 5,000 people a year to attend sporting events held at these fields,” she continued.

Organised sport has been undertaken at the Forbes Botanical Gardens sports fields for over 100 years. It is a real focal point for the Forbes community and a true multipurpose community sporting facility.

The Botanical Gardens are home to the Forbes Touch Association, Forbes Junior Cricket, Forbes Little A’s and the Forbes & District Soccer Club. The fields are also utilised by Red Bend Catholic College and St Laurence’s Primary School for training and school carnivals.

The current amenities block has been in service since the 1970’s and the grounds do not have change room facilities at all.

The new building will include showers, change rooms and toilets. Most importantly, for the first time, facilities will be available to the elderly and disabled.

“We are proud to have Andrew Rawsthorne on our team at Forbes Shire Council as our Grants Officer,” said Phyllis. “He has the expertise to find the right funding opportunities and to match them to the right cause.”

The Forbes & District Soccer Club worked closely with Forbes Shire Council to secure a $146,236 grant from the 2015 Asian Cup Legacy Surplus Funds, along with $150,000 from Forbes Shire Council for Stage 1 of the project.

“Now that the project is fully funded we look forward to getting this amazing new facility up and running for the winter season of sport activities planned,” said Phyllis.