And the winner is...

Wow! Last night will stick in my memory for quite some time...
In front of a crowd of 320 amazingly inspirational people, I was awarded Sunshine Coast Small Businesswoman of the Year. How that happened, I am still not quite sure, and I will be on a high for days!

Pictures are on their way, but I wanted to share my speech with you...


When I was 13, my parents had what can only be called a ‘serious mid-life crisis’.
They took my brother and me out of school and we spent the next five years sailing around the world on a 32ft ketch.

My ‘boat –schooling’ experience taught me many things:
I learnt that risks are worth taking.
I learnt that with the support of family I can do just about anything.
I discovered there is a vast difference between schooling and education.
And I learnt to rely on my own abilities.

About 4 years ago I decided I would like to encourage other parents to explore the world around them with THEIR kids. (It doesn’t have to be quite so extreme). I wanted to write guidebooks for travelling families. The only drawback was that I really didn’t know how to write.

So I enrolled in my Master’s degree at the University of the Sunshine Coast, and started on the bottom rung at The Sunshine Coast Daily. On weekends and holidays I would hook up my camper trailer and my daughter (and chief expert) Amber and I would travel around Queensland writing reviews as we went.

In October last year, my first book Kids Welcome to Queensland, was published. It includes over 1000 reviews of activities, attractions, tours, places to eat and places to stay throughout our state. Amber and I are now busy writing our next book: Kids Welcome to NSW.

I could not have reached this milestone without the tremendous support of many people: my graphic artist, proof-reader, distribution team, colleagues and friends. Especially my best friend Terri who nominated me for this award. On behalf of all of us, I thank the SCBWN and sponsors for this amazing honour.

But there are two people who deserve my thanks more than any others: my parents.
My Dad died in January and my Mum now lives in a nursing home so they couldn’t be here tonight, but I hope I can be as inspirational a parent to Amber, as they have been to me.