By the people, for the people
WORDS: CHRIS SHEEDY Just as the Sydney Royal Easter Show is made successful by people, so too are our rural communities. The RAS has designed several awards to recognise and celebrate these local heroes. Here we take a look at the 2016 The Land Sydney Royal Showgirls. Showgirls At every Sydney Royal Easter Show over 500 of the state's most intelligent, passionate and knowledgeable young women compete for the title of The Land Sydney Royal Showgirl. Judging is based on contribution to local communities, knowledge of local and current affairs and future aspirations. The winner is invited to mentor competitors at the Sydney Royal Easter Show the following year, after spending 12 months as an ambassador for the RAS, rural NSW, and the agricultural show movement as a whole. This year's winner was 23-year-old Grace Eppelstun from Grenfell, who is studying a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Teaching. She is also a co-ordinator with the National Indigenous Science Education Program, which aims to improve the educational outcomes for indigenous students and communities. "This award has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me," Eppelstun says. "Grenfell is a town of 2,500 people, in a shire of just 3,500 people. It is a small, close-knit community in which you don't tend to have exceptional, out-of-the-ordinary experiences. Now I have met John Singleton and Niall Blair, and become an ambassador for the agricultural show movement and for young women. I'm very proud of this achievement and also very happy for anything it might do for Grenfell." Runner-up was Emily Madge from Young, an active member of the Young Show Society, and third place went to Dana Velasco from Blacktown.
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