How to foster connection: advice from a Young Woman of the Year

From her personal inspirations and achievements to her passion for empowering women across the Central West, Chantelle offers a heartfelt glimpse into what makes Narromine not just a place to live, but a place to belong.

What do you love about living in Narromine?

I love that Narromine's such a close-knit community. I've grown up in Narromine, and it has grown since my childhood but it is still a community that cares for its neighbours and has a very deep rooted community spirit.

You walk down the street and you see people that you know, or new families that have moved in and everyone's so welcoming.

What inspires you?

I would say my mum is probably my biggest inspiration. She has done a lot for me growing up.

I used to do Irish dancing, so we would constantly be in Sydney and it's a lot of travelling and dedication to that.

She's just a well-rounded woman and she tries to get involved in a lot of things herself, so I just want to make her proud and see that I'm a young woman that is following in her steps and is able to achieve great things.

What is your greatest achievement?

So I got married in 2024, which was very, very exciting, but also a lot of hard work, because planning weddings takes a lot.

Also continuing to develop myself in all areas of my life - personally, socially and professionally.

What do you wish was more widely embraced by central or far west women?

I think as women unless you're actually physically involved in something like a sporting club or a volunteering position, it's kind of hard to find people with similar interests.

I think networking and development events would be a big thing for the Central West as there's such a vast region to cover.

If these kinds of events could be on weekends, as women have families, have their own professional dreams and careers, and fortunately we have this committee that's called the Western Rural Connect.

It's a great way to meet people in the region, but to also have the opportunity to find those networking, spaces.

Maddy Preston, who was actually the 2022 Narromine Young Woman, is one of the co-founders, and coming up we've got a Rural Women's Day on October 19, in Nyngan, which is very, very exciting. They've organised a big luncheon, and they're having a few public speakers in different areas.

I think it's important women embrace themselves in a community, but also work on their own confidence and skills.

What's something you're working on improving?

With the young woman competition, you obviously find out a lot about yourself and this program's more about building upon what you already have.

I think with myself, I would love to improve my confidence. In the last 12 months, I've definitely seen myself grow in that space, but I would like to see myself do more things - go up to a stranger and say 'Hi, I'm Chantelle from Narromine' - and I don't think I'm quite there yet.

What's the best advice you've ever received?

To back yourself and put yourself out there, even if you're not confident in knowing what you're doing.

The reward and self-development you get from putting yourself out there, especially in unknown spaces such as a wider community, is definitely worth being uncomfortable in for a short time.

I went into the young woman program for a second year to show young women that you can come from a small country town and that you don't need to be one of the big name families to make a difference in the community.

Best business:

Soul Food Depot and Gallery - they are a multi-faceted business for Narromine. They have great food in their cafe which is open seven days a week, which is amazing. They have great event spaces and they provide opportunities for the community that produce small goods or jams and honey and all that sort of stuff. They also have a rotational gallery for local artists to hang and sell their work.

Best place to eat:

In the morning, I would say Zest. It's on the main street and the smoothies are amazing, and they also have a very great menu. It's very tied in with the Narromine community, we've got the Glenn McGrath smoothie and one that's gorilla themed.

For the night, I would say the Courthouse Hotel has great pub food. It's just a great atmosphere where they provide live music some nights, which is just great and during the summertime, they've got their beer garden and the kids can run wild.

Best event to attend:

Narromine Agricultural Show - the pavilion is a crowd favourite, and the amount of free entertainment that they provide for the kids is incredible. It just gives, parents their kind of leeway of, 'off you go, go look at the dinosaurs or the motorbikes, and we'll have our 5 or 10 minutes of time'.

Hidden gem:

The Narromine wetlands are great. They have a walking track, but it was recently upgraded probably about 18 months ago. It's definitely a great place for morning or afternoon walks. That's also where Narromine park runs are held every week.

It's so much better with these upgrades, cause then you've got more space, but it's also good to see the geese, especially when they have their babies and they come quite close, but you can't get too close, otherwise they'll hiss at you.

You can also ride your bikes and there's barbecues out there, so you can make a day of it.