Speaking up for all country women
IT TAKES a certain kind of confidence to get up in front of a group of people, but the women from the Queensland Country Women's Association have it in spades.
On Monday they held their annual Border Division Public Speaking Competition in preparation for the regional and state finals.
QCWA Border Division Killarney Branch member for 14 years Denise Maycook said the competition offered the ladies in the group the chance to express themselves.
"I used to admire the ladies that got up and did the public speaking section," Mrs Maycook said. "Then one day I thought I would give it a go and this is my third year.
"Before I started public speaking I was reading bush poetry and I love poems that have character or comedy to them."
Border Division Public Speaking Competition convenor from the Wallangarra branch Kerry Hampstead said the competition was a great opportunity.
"It improves their self-esteem and enables them to voice their opinions in front of others and is a good confidence booster," Mrs Hampstead said.
"The competition included public speaking, which goes all the way to state level, interpretive reading that goes to regional level and bush poetry which is just a divisional thing."
As the only public speaking entrant Denise Maycook won, Sandra Hass and Rosemary Peterson won the interpretive reading sections and Kate Gordon won bush poetry.
