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A Letter of Thanks to My Sponsor

My name is Lindy Crowe, I currently co-manage Curtain Call Performing Arts Studios by night, teach VCE DANCE at Loreto College by day and in between raise three wonderful children.
 
After running my own business for 12 years, I decided I was looking for something to help me connect with the wider community and to get myself in front of new artists, business owners and community leaders. Having been heavily involved with local community groups prior to children, I was keen to ‘reconnect’ and make changes to my life. The Leadership program was suggested to me so I thought it was worth applying.
 
The interview process was intense and I was positive nothing would come of the application – so I was delighted to hear I was the recipient of the Bug Blitz scholarship.
 
The LBWR program has opened my eyes to many local events and has exposed me to new and interesting people at my doorstep. The small group of current participants have bonded well and have enthusiastically embraced each other’s stories and journeys. The connections we have made with each other have already help us professionally and personally, and has opened many doors for me within the small business and artistic community.
 
Every program day has left me realising how little I knew about current events and changes in the community in which I lived, and how disengaged I had become since raising my own children. These program days has evoked intense conversations amongst my fellow LBWR participants and also amongst my own friends and families. Opening retreat, our ‘Resilience’ day and the Bendigo joint leadership conference are amongst the highlights.
 
RUG UP Ballarat was a milestone feature of the program for me and my business. I was fortunate enough to give 15 young local performers from the studio, the opportunity to perform at this Winter Festival and show case their talents and skills to a range of Ballarat locals. We mingled with other small businesses, made new friends and thoroughly enjoyed our weekend, all while contributing to raising some necessary funds for BreezeWay, UnitingCare Ballarat‘s meals for the homeless program. We were thrilled that so many Curtain Call families came to support us, further extending the local network of Ballarat people involved in this festival. We look forward to our participation next year!
 
The loss of Sofia to the program has had a huge impact on the 2016 participants, and we are glad to welcome Jennie with open arms to help us re-engage and get the most out of the program days offered. Our Canberra trip is not only a month away, and we are all excited to see what conversations and issues we will learn and discuss.
 
Perhaps the biggest thing I have gained from my involvement in this program is courage, confidence and a renewed desire to contribute. Courage to expand my horizons and my future plans; confidence in the work I do within my community of students and the positive impact it is having in their lives; and contribution to the community that I am living and the work I can do both as a volunteer and as a professional to ensure Ballarat remains the beautiful and vibrant city we know and love.
 
A massive thanks to Bug Blitz and the Hugh D T Williamson foundation for their support. I am confident the experiences I have gained this year will lead to me doing great things as a community leader of the future, and I look forward to giving back to LBWR in 2017.

Kat Baddeley

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