WALCHA'S very own Dale Webber has been nominated for a major prize at this year's Agricultural Societies Council of NSW (ASC) annual awards ceremony, which takes place this Saturday.
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She is in the running for the dedication award, and is just one of five people across the state selected by ASC as a finalist.
Ms Webber was nominated by the Walcha Show Society, which she is the secretary of, because of her incredible work over the past few years that has helped grow the size and profitability of the show.
While many agricultural shows around the nation are struggling, the society's membership has grown by nearly 20 per cent in recent years, while it has also been successful in receiving funding through grants.
The Walcha local has been instrumental in the show's revitalisation, having also helped launch a targeted marketing campaign since joining the committee four years ago.
"We brought to the attention of the actual community that membership was widely open to everybody and the benefits they got from being a member," she said.
"Such as complementary tickets to the show as part of their membership and I think that's something that encouraged a lot of people, this year we also had some great entertainment."
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There has also been a focus on attracting younger people to take part in the show as volunteers, members or even committee members, which will help secure the event's future.
Ms Webber said while she was secretary, the decisions had been made as a committee and everyone on it deserved an equal share of the credit for making the show so popular.
Dealing with the uncertainty of COVID-19 was a major challenge, but she said it may have ultimately helped attendance at their event since people were so keen to witness the sights, smells and sounds of local shows again.
"I think it was mainly because there's been so many shows that weren't running, even to the full extent they would usually run a show, but our show was pretty much full on," she said.
"And I think the community was just keen to get out and enjoy themselves, we had people come from a lot of other places, some competitors came from Sydney and some of our members are on the Central Coast.
Competitors from the likes of Inverell, Tenterfield and Inverell also made the journey, which is testament to the reputation the show has gained - largely as a result of Ms Webber's work.
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