It was a particularly chilly morning for last Friday’s event, and Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Course was covered in frost, but that didn’t stop almost 100 women from getting out early to hear from two very different, but equally compelling, guest speakers.
From farmers, young mums and professionals to school leaders and retirees, the room was a cross-section of backgrounds and interests.
Mulwala Pharmacy owner Abbey Hammon told how her passion for running and staying fit had sustained her journey from university student to business owner.
It was her husband Anthony who brought Abbey to Yarrawonga Mulwala, when he followed his dream to manage the family farm.
As a young pharmacist, Abbey entered into a partnership in Yarrawonga business where she felt unsupported to the point of working on the morning her daughter was born and returning just four weeks later.
“It was a tough time,” she said.
“I needed to leave the partnership and put my family first.”
Abbey began doing locum work, and eventually started work at the Mulwala Pharmacy.
When the owner moved to Queensland, she made the brave decision to realise her dream and buy the pharmacy outright.
Her story of facing and overcoming the challenges, the joy of helping her customers and growing the business was inspiring to everyone.
Following on, GV Libraries chief executive Felicity Macchion’s story showed how far it’s possible to go, just by taking risks and trying new things.
Felicity said her first response to any opportunity was always to say ‘yes’ and then later work out how.
After 35 years working in public libraries, she’s seen a lot of change.
Most people think of libraries as somewhere to borrow a book, but Felicity’s vision for what a library can offer a community is very different.
A unique opportunity offered by the Gates Foundation saw her travel overseas to places as diverse as Amsterdam, Chile and South Africa.
“Bill Gates was a library nerd, and he changed by career,” Felicity said.
“He wanted to talk about best practice, where libraries were going and how to keep them vibrant and learning from each other.”
From books to virtual reality and beyond, the world of libraries is rapidly changing, and Yarrawonga’s new library is likely to offer more than most people can imagine.
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