Rural Ambassador Award Podcast

“To think we are here and married is pretty crazy still…that all this came out of helping and putting some cakes in order on a Saturday morning once a year has led to this. It’s pretty amazing!” McKeely DenholmEveryone loves a love story.This episode sure does have one.Since the inception of the Rural Ambassador Award, there has been many participants who’ve hooked up and gone on to have their own families, but there’s only been one wedding.   Firstly, you need to meet the two main characters of this love story.McKeely and William Denholm.Will is from Kapunda and is the 2010 Young Rural Ambassador winner and 2015 Rural Ambassador state finalist and now works for the ANZ BankMcKeely was the 2012 YRA winner, who grew up in Mundulla, a little town in the south east. It has a population 157 but swells to 3000 on show days. She moved to Adelaide to study a Bachelor of Health Science and now works in child safety.Despite moving to Adelaide all those years ago to study, McKeely remained loyal to the Mundulla Show, and is still involved despite now living in Kapunda with her husband Will.Enjoy the journey with McKeely and Will.ABOUT THE AWARDThe Young Rural Ambassador Award program has been running for 16 years giving young people a pathway to develop their leadership skills and networks and grow their knowledge with a total of 15 past state winners, many still living and working in their rural communities.The Young Rural Ambassador Award is open to people aged between 16 and 19 years of age who live in South Australia. They are encouraged to have links with a country show, no matter how big or small their involvement is. Entrants can be from a variety of backgrounds, whether still at secondary school, being in the work force in any field or studying further education.This podcast is possible through the support of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, a major sponsor the young Rural Ambassador and Rural Ambassador Awards. LINKS:PIRSA: https://pir.sa.gov.au/SA Country Shows:  https://www.sacountryshows.com/sa-country-shows/Agricultural Teachers Association of SA: https://atasa.tidyhq.com/ 

 "I just can’t imagine anything that I've achieved or done without having that Rural Ambassadorship now. So just lean into it, take it up, soak it up.”Taryn Mangelsdorf is originally from the Riverland. She was introduced to the Rural Ambassador Award when she was 13 years old when Peter Angus, who was the National Ambassador Award Winner at the time was a guest at her parents’ home during the Loxton Show.That visit obviously made an impact because fast forward 11 years, Taryn entered the Award in 2010 and became the state runner up.Since then, she’s been involved with Boards on state and national levels, played an integral role in forming the Next Generation Group for the Ambassador Alumni and continues to be a passionate advocate for country shows, rural youth and ensuring rural ambassadors continue to represent the Riverland and Mallee.  Firstly, let’s go back to where it all began, back to her roots to find out where this drive and passion stems from. Enjoy the journey with Taryn. ABOUT THE RURAL AMBASSADOR AWARD The Rural Ambassador Award program has been running for 24 years giving young people a pathway to develop their leadership skills and networks and grow their knowledge with a total of 23 past state winners, many still living and working in their rural communities.The Rural Ambassador Award is open to people aged between 20 and 30 years of age who live in rural SA and they are encouraged to have links with a country show, no matter how big or small their involvement is. Entrants can be from a variety of backgrounds – primary industries, education, health, and service industries. This podcast is proudly supported by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA, a major sponsor of the Young Rural Ambassador Award and Rural Ambassador Awards.Links: PIRSA: https://pir.sa.gov.au/SA Country Shows: https://www.sacountryshows.com/sa-country-shows/Agricultural Teachers Association of SA: https://atasa.tidyhq.com/

It’s been an interesting ride being an Ambassador during the COVID pandemic.  The last 2 years, The Royal Adelaide Show was cancelled  so instead of postponing it for another year, the Ambassadors battled it out for the state title at the Murray Bridge show in 2021.Though they missed out on the coveted Adelaide experience, all the Ambassadors got to attend the 2022 Sydney Royal Easter Show and they’re also invited back to the Adelaide Show later this year.  The opportunities are still flowing!Our next guest on the podcast is part of that crew.Meet Jake Rowe, he was the 2nd runner up in the 2021 State Rural Ambassador Award.He runs his own cabinet making business at Penola in the state’s south east. An impressive milestone at the age of only 27.He’s ambitious, loves to travel, always up for a challenge and takes on any opportunity with a ‘why not’ attitude. Over the next 20 minutes, Jake candidly talks about running a small business in regional South Australia, his dreams to crack into the high-end furniture market interstate and how the Rural Ambassador journey helped his leadership skills in business.  Enjoy the journey with Jake Rowe. ABOUT THE AWARDThe Rural Ambassador Award program has been running for 24 years giving young people a pathway to develop their leadership skills and networks and grow their knowledge with a total of 23 past state winners, many still living and working in their rural communities.The Rural Ambassador Award is open to people aged between 20 and 30 years of age who live in SA, who have links with a country show, no matter how big or small their involvement is. Entrants can be from a variety of backgrounds – primary industries, education, health, and service industries.This podcast is proudly supported by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA, a major sponsor of the Young Rural Ambassador Award and Rural Ambassador Awards.Links: PIRSA: https://pir.sa.gov.au/SA Country Shows: https://www.sacountryshows.com/sa-country-shows/Agricultural Teachers Association of SA: https://atasa.tidyhq.com/  

“Just do it, don’t be shy, don’t hold back, you’ll get something out of it.”Meet 21-year-old Garry Schutz who won the Young Rural Ambassador Award in 2019.From a sheep and cropping farm at Eudunda, Garry is the youngest of 6, with 3 brothers and 2 sisters.Garry left school when he was 15, but with so many siblings on the farm he paved his own way, took up shearing, and hasn’t looked back. His older brother is the president of the Eudunda Show, who encouraged Garry to apply for the award, but little did he know he’d take home the state title.Enjoy the journey with Garry Schutz. Garry also features in a special, short video promoting the opportunities and experiences he had after participating in the Young Rural Ambassador Award. This video was funded by an Agricultural Shows Australia Initiative through a Federal Government grant. Check it out on SA Country Show’s Instagram and Facebook pages.ABOUT THE YOUNG RURAL AMBASSADOR AWARDThe Young Rural Ambassador Award  has been running for 16 years giving young people a pathway to develop their leadership skills and networks and grow their knowledge with a total of 15 past state winners, many still living and working in their rural communities.The Young Rural Ambassador Award is open to people aged between 16 and 19 years of age who live in South Australia. They are encouraged to have links with a country show, no matter how big or small their involvement is. Entrants can be from a variety of backgrounds, whether still at secondary school, being in the work force in any field or studying further education.This podcast is possible through the support of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, a major sponsor the young Rural Ambassador and Rural Ambassador Awards.Links:  PIRSA: https://pir.sa.gov.au/SA Country Shows: https://www.sacountryshows.com/sa-country-shows/Agricultural Teachers Association of SA: https://atasa.tidyhq.com/

“The simplest key to being a Rural Ambassador is getting involved with your show, whether it's working on the gate, bringing along the footy team to man the barbecue or simply entering your biggest pumpkin, get involved and support your community.”Meet Jacqueline Francis, she lives and breathes country shows.She is a past Young Rural Ambassador, currently the Junior Vice-president of the Mount Pleasant Show, president of the Kapunda Show, the Junior Vice-president of SA Country Show and the State Young Judges Coordinator.She loves all things country and is already grooming her 2 young boys to be future generation Rural Ambassadors. Enjoy the journey with Jacquie Francis. ABOUT THE YOUNG RURAL AMBASSADOR AWARDThe Young Rural Ambassador Award  has been running for 16 years giving young people a pathway to develop their leadership skills and networks and grow their knowledge with a total of 15 past state winners, many still living and working in their rural communities.The Young Rural Ambassador Award is open to people aged between 16 and 19 years of age who live in South Australia. They are encouraged to have links with a country show, no matter how big or small their involvement is. Entrants can be from a variety of backgrounds, whether still at secondary school, being in the work force in any field or studying further education. This podcast is possible through the support of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, a major sponsor the young Rural Ambassador and Rural Ambassador Awards. Links: PIRSA: https://pir.sa.gov.au/SA Country Shows: https://www.sacountryshows.com/sa-country-shows/Agricultural Teachers Association of SA: https://atasa.tidyhq.com/