Recipients Announced for the WiBRD 2021 Scholarship Program!
Women in Business & Regional Development (WiBRD) announced the 2021 Scholarship winners at their Relax & Connect event in Mt Gambier on Friday the 16th of July. The networking event hosted by Ebony Moulden, Board member and owner of Brite Legal. Dylan McQueen the Scroll Queen was the guest speaker and he spoke about scaling your business through, what we know, has been a tough time for many.
WIBRD are proud to be able to present theses scholarships year after year and are really pleased to have been able to add a new category – Women Who Led in Business.
The winners were as follows: Entrepreneurial Scholarship was taken out this year by Aleathia Holland and her business LeaLa Tea Co, Callena Rawlings presented the prize and represents Flinders EnVision, a partner of WIBRD and the sponsor of this scholarship. Congratulations Aleathia.
Our Business Booster Scholarship was won by Melissa Reilly of Total Therapy Solutions and this scholarship was presented by Patrick O’Donell, Southern Cross Austereo Manager, who are also a partner of WIBRD and sponsor of this scholarship. Congratulations Melissa.
New this year is our Women Who Led in Business, that was sponsored by Sally Klose Strategic Solutions, was won by Sharon Disher, from the Barry Maney Group, and presented by Sally Klose. Congratulations Sharon.
Prior to the announcement of the Scholarship recipients Ebony Moulden, WiBRD Board Member and Member of the Scholarship judging panel reflected on the importance of the scholarships for the community “these three scholarships exemplify the values that sit at the heart of WiBRD. They recognise the enormous creativity and talent we have here in the Limestone Coast, and they serve to offer the connections and mentoring that are so vital to all of us in business or working in business.”
Ebony went on to applaud the calibre of all nominees for the 2021 Scholarship program “What was clear and the common thread in all the applications was just how passionate they are not only about their businesses and own personal development but also how passionate you are about showcasing our region and all it has to offer. “She went on to say, “We are especially excited about the new category of Women who Led in Business and are excited to see what the mentoring opportunities will provide to Sharon with her project to develop mentoring for younger employees”.
The WiBRD Scholarship Program which has been developed in partnership with Dare to Dream Business Coaching and Mentoring, Sally Klose Strategic Solutions, Southern Cross Austereo and Flinders University will take place for a year from July 2021 to June 2022.
Each scholarship is valued at over $2500 for women who demonstrate entrepreneurial potential and/or run an established business and are seeking support to help boost their businesses into its next phase. The WiBRD 2021 Business Booster & Entrepreneurial Scholarship program supports the establishment and fostering of entrepreneurs and businesswomen in the Limestone Coast. And the new category is about supporting women who work in a business in a leadership role.
The scholarships are directly aligned with the Women in Business & Regional Development strategic direction whereby the recipients of the scholarships will be supported and guided in their business pursuits and underpin the WiBRD mission of growing the potential of regional women and supporting them to create powerful legacies.
Women who Led in Business Recipient, Sharon Disher, Barry Maney Group
Sharon is an Administration Manager at Barry Maney Group, she is responsible for all aspects of administration in the business, including being a direct support to our General Manager and the other managers in the business. Recently she has been involved to include a larger focus on strategic direction.
Informally, Sharon is a key pillar in helping the wellbeing of their staff. Life provides many challenges, and positive wellbeing is not about having or avoiding these, rather having sufficient resources to face them. For some people, the resources they need may come from the workplace. Such as flexibility, decision-making skills, financial literacy and managing demands are all important skills employees can use in developing resilience in and outside the workplace to help with positive wellbeing.
She is passionate about development of a mentoring program. With more young people stepping into leadership, they could be paired with other leaders. She believes that when new people join the business, we should not automatically assign roles and responsibilities that the previous role-holder may have held. Rather, we should consider the person and their strengths and should not be afraid to reconsider the role in context of the whole team.
Business Booster Scholarship recipient, Melissa Reilly, Total Therapy Solutions Pty Ltd
Total Therapy Solutions is a business that provides Occupational Therapy services to the entire Limestone Coast of SA. Melissa’s team is spread across the Limestone Coast and see’s clients in their own homes, she is opening an office in Mount Gambier as a base for meetings as well as face-to-face therapy. Since, starting the business in 2018 demand has kept escalating and Melissa has employed more staff in the hope to meet demand, but recruitment & retention remain challenges. As Melissa looks to grow the business, she is continually striving to find improvements across the business as it grows. Melissa’s vision is to employ more staff to meet the growing demand and be able to consistently have waiting times below two weeks. This needs to be done in a way that keeps our high-quality services that she strives for.
Melissa is excited about the scholarship so she can re visit her business structure along with her role in the business into the future as she develops her goals and plans across the Limestone Coast.
Entrepreneurial Scholarship recipient, Alethia Holland, LeaLa Tea Co.
LeaLa Tea Co. started around the idea of collagen tea, collagen is something that our bodies have in an abundance until the age of 25, it keeps us looking youthful, our hair thick and our bones strong. However after the age of 25 it starts to deplete and helps accelerate the ageing process, hence why you are starting to see collagen supplements make its way into our everyday beauty food and products. Alethia began to search the market place and found only one other company selling collagen tea in Australia. Alethia realising there was a gap in the tea market formed an idea of bringing a beauty collagen tea to the market place.
Alethia’s idea is a breakthrough product but that she is teaming with the no.1 most consumed hot drink in the world. It then bridges the gap between beauty and food to help to aid in replenishing our bodies with its depleting storage of collagen. The f
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