Ever wondered what happens once our Showgirl is donned with her beautiful sash? We caught up with Annie Hazelton 2019 Orange Show Girl Winner to find out.

Born in Cudal, Annie spent most of her time in Orange whether it be for speech and drama, debating or sporting events, emphasising, “I feel very much like an Orange girl.”

Annie was inspired to compete for the Showgirl sash with the hope she could inspire more young women to use their voices in the Agriculture sector.

“It’s really important that women have a voice in agriculture. I think it’s getting bigger and I think it’s getting stronger, but in particular young women should get involved and get their ideas across as well. The resilience of rural women is outstanding and we should stay as involved as we can in our communities and that involves our show societies.”

With a love for competitive debating and adjudicating, Annie has recently just returned from a trip to the World Debating Championships which were held in Thailand, this year Annie was on the judging panel. Her showgirl roots have sparked a will to boost our public speaking programs.

“From those I have spoken to they’ve told me it’s also really important to have a ‘passion project’ that you’re working on, for me, that’s the CWA and their public speaking competition. We are very lucky to have an organisation like the CWA and I am excited to bring some fresh ideas into the mix.

When I first entered competitive debating at University in the city I was gobsmacked. I think it’s really important to keep up to date with what is happening in the city and I think the CWA is the way to do that.”

Annie mentioned she her proudest moments were continuing to establish their relationship with the council and getting more involved with the National Field Days and the Orange Wine Week.

“This has been such a great experience for me. It reinforced the value of community and importance of community, as well as the importance of supporting each other particularly during tough times. It’s also meant I’ve had conversations with many people I wouldn’t have the opportunity to if I wasn’t showgirl.

“It is an amazing opportunity for young women, I think one of the myths that people believe is they are expected to have an agricultural background, my Dad is a Farmer but I don’t work in Agriculture, it’s important that we emphasise it’s not just about representing the show society, but the community, which includes people that work in all different professions.

“With that, I think people being involved in the show society is absolutely critical probably now more than ever before, a stage in which we are seeing drought, bushfires and other natural disasters occur, it’s really important that we get in and support our farmers and our community members.”