The annual fellowship, named in honour of Gaye Riggall, is open to young people under 35 currently working in a Deniliquin Chamber member business.
Designed to be flexible and available to employees within any industry, the winner will receive up to $2000 towards training, study or professional development.
In line with the Chamber’s mission to support innovation and business excellence, the fellowship is just one of the Chamber’s initiatives to invest in the development and success of Deniliquin businesses.
Chamber president Paula Rutter said the fellowship is an important initiative that it is proud to deliver.
‘‘We know having the right staff with the right skillset is integral to business success.
‘‘We are incredibly lucky to have a whole cohort of young, talented individuals working in Deniliquin, and we are backing the future success of Deniliquin by investing in their career development.’’
Established in collaboration with the Riggall family, Mrs Riggall’s daughter, Justine Keech, hopes the scholarship will inspire a young person in Deniliquin to strive for excellence, an attribute that Mrs Riggall held in high regard.
“Mum was an innovative person and she was a great advocate and supporter of young people in her community when she was on Conargo Shire. Mum was also a great proponent of business, and ran her own business for many years.” Mrs Keech said.
“Chamber was keen to do something to promote youth education and learning in the business community, and adding to the skillset of our community. We thought it was the perfect fit.’’
Gaye Riggall was a passionate advocate for giving back to the community.
She was the first female councillor on the former Conargo Shire Council and became its first mayor.
Mrs Riggall’s background in journalism saw her join the Pastoral Times before starting the Deniliquin Independent as its editor.
The sale of the Independent to the Pastoral Times saw her involvement grow with the Peppin Heritage Centre where she became manager for several years before retirement.
The 2019 inaugural scholarship was awarded to Big River Real Estate property manager Jesse Taylor last year.
The fellowship allowed him to pursue his goal of becoming a qualified sales agent with a Cert IV in Property Services.
Mr Taylor encourages anyone considering the fellowship to dive in and apply.
‘‘Not only does the Chamber Riggall Fellowship provide financial relief to pursue and develop your education in your chosen field, it also gives you the kick start to study instead of procrastinating and telling yourself ‘next year, I’ll start next year’,’’ he said.
‘‘This has been the case for me as it gave me the incentive I needed to push me to start my studies.
‘‘It was actually Ange Walker (Big River owner) who came across it and she said it would be a good opportunity for me.
‘‘When I applied and won I knew I had to make time to do my sales course.
‘‘Having three kids, with my wife Alisha also working full time and running her own business it was always easy for me to make excuses to not start my course.
‘‘Now with this extra incentive you make the time and get it done. Covering the cost of these courses is hard for anyone so I’m very thankful to have received the scholarship.
‘‘It has not only paid for the course, but has also gone towards other equipment I need for my study and my work.’’
Applications close Friday May 8, and application information can be found at the Chamber website www.deniliquinchamber.com.au or by contacting Lauren Ryan at 03 5881 2621.
The fellowship winner will be announced at the Business Excellence Awards in June.
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