The winners of the Queensland Ag Show Awards 2024 were announced on March 16 at a black-tie dinner in Brisbane where they were lauded for their outstanding dedication and commitment to the show community.
The Emerging Leader Award was won by Adam Tokely of the Daybro AH&I Association Inc, while Matthew Hillier from the Fraser Coast Agriculture Show Society Inc the runner up.
The Best Innovation in a Local Event winner was The Haystack at the Gympie Show and the runner-up was Fashions in the Paddock at the Tully District Show,
The Outstanding Individual Contribution winner was Melanie Bryson from the Mudgeeraba Show Society, while runner-up was Kerry Denning from the Pittsworth Show Society Inc.
Qld Ag Shows general manager Trevor Beckingham said all the "winners, runners-up and nominees had made outstanding contributions".
Mr Beckingham said the nominees encouraged teams and individuals to innovate and maintain their commitment to achieving excellence and the awards offered a superb opportunity for the industry to come together and celebrate with their peers.
"The award recipients are only the tip of the iceberg of the depth of talent, dedication and commitment of those who are part of our shows," he said.
"When you consider the show movement in Australian is considered the largest volunteer organisation in Australia, the amount of talent, experience and expertise out there is mind-blowing."
Mr Beckingham said he hoped the 2024 awards would encourage more show members to consider nominating their outstanding peers.
"Absolutely there are many very deserving people we have in our movement," he said.
"So we encourage people to take note of them and put forward these equally talented and dedicated members of their show to put forward next year."
Queensland Ag Shows Awards 2024 Winners
Emerging Leader: Winner: Adam Tokely - Dayboro A.H.I. Association Inc.
Adam Tokely was 13 when he started helping at the canteen and by 16 he was 'gopher' secretary.
Two years later he took up ground announcing and now, at 35, is an announcer for 11 different shows.
In 2017, Adam revived the Kids Passport activity that had been inactive for around seven years and the following year he initiated an Agri Education Pavilion.
More recently he designed a Show Shirt for volunteers to feel a sense of belonging and negotiated with a local high school to attend a 'mock' beef cattle competition. In 2022 he reintroduced the local showgirl competition after a 10 year hiatus and in 2023 he developed new evening entertainment; the Dayboro Pineapple Toss.
He has held numerous executive positions at the Dayboro Show, sub chamber and Qld Ag Shows Next Gen levels.
Runner Up: Matthew Hillier - Fraser Coast Agriculture Show Society Inc.
Matthew Hillier was just 15 years of age when he asked the president of the Fraser Coast Agriculture Show Society, "what does the show society do for members my age?"
That was in 2019 and in the five years since Matthew is "one of the first three" people after the show has concluded helping to pull down marquees, clean up and do obvious jobs without being asked.
In 2022 when the main pavilion was being redeveloped, a large area of the showgrounds was left without power; it was Matthew who organised a diesel pod for the back of his ute and made sure the four generators were fuelled and maintained.
He introduced the Young Farmers Challenge and is the driving force behind the return of a show ball.
In the director position, he has started a FCASS Next Gen and holds monthly meetings with those aged 18 to 32 years old.
Best Innovation in a Local Event: Winner: The Haystack - Gympie District Show
The Gympie District Show Society raised more than $30,000 when it established an action packed mini show style atmosphere at a special event, The Haystack, in October.
A sold out crowd of 150 people gathered in a transformed old-style country dance hall to enjoy fine dining, live entertainment, auctions, trivia and guest speakers.
It was the brainchild of pavilion chief steward Mikaela Sima and senior showgirl entrant Hannah Johnston and aimed to bring attention to innovation in the local agricultural sector through manufacturing, celebrating local produce, and a focus on positive mental health and wellbeing.
Runner Up: Fashions on the Paddock - Tully & District Show
Not only are Tully bananas great to eat, but they also have a future in fashion.
Banana section steward Melanie Collins was the brains behind the now infamous Fashions on the Paddock, which invites people to create a fashion piece from recyclable banana bags.
The idea was created to try to attract the community to attend the show earlier on the first day, and ultimately stay longer.
Packall Bananas donated $2500 and sponsors fly up every year from Brisbane to attend the event.
The entrants come from all over the area to parade their outfits on the runway, which needed to move from the exhibition shed to its own space in the ring.
There are often entries from local schools, thus engaging the youth.
Outstanding Individual Contribution: Winner: Melanie Bryson - Mudgeeraba Show Society
Melanie Bryson dedicates more than 40 volunteer hours a week to the Mudgeeraba Show Society.
From her humble beginnings as a pavilion volunteer in 2017 to the role of vice president in 2020, serving as the Pavilion Section Head for four consecutive years, and now in her second year of presidency, Melanie has been instrumental in reinvigorating the recruitment, retention, and recognition of volunteers within the show.
In 2023, under Melanie's leadership, the Mudgeeraba Show Society proudly welcomed over 22,000 visitors to the show by nurturing relationships with volunteer agencies and polishing all logistics.
Melanie has initiated several ways to celebrate these volunteers including the inaugural Mudgeeraba Show Society Volunteer Awards, which were introduced at the 2023 AGM.
Melanie still finds the time to travel to a number of shows offering support and seeking best practice to further enhance the delivery of the Mudgeeraba Agricultural Show.
One of Melanie's visionary initiatives for 2023 was the creation of the Farmers Feast.
Runner Up: Kerri Denning - Pittsworth Show Society Inc.
Preserving the history of shows isn't an easy feat, just ask Kerri Denning.
The volunteer of more than 50 years spent two years scouring photos and minutes to piece together the 204 page Pittsworth Show History Book.
As the chief pavilion steward for more than 40 years she could often be found in the months before the show helping the secretary and getting show boxes ready with judging sheets, prize cards and ribbons for the pavilion.
To keep things fresh and exciting, she organises a different theme for the pavilion each year and helped start the pavilion scarecrow, a colouring competition that received over 200 entries in the first year and a shop window section for local businesses. For the 110th show, she had a special section for old exhibits entered in prior years and gifted each entrant a 110th medal.
Towards the 2025 awards
Mr Beckingham said the Queensland Ag Shows Awards were established in 2016,as an initiative of the Queensland Ag Shows Next Generation Committee to recognise excellence and innovation in the agricultural show movement.
He said the awards served to acknowledge the contributions of the grassroots volunteers that bring together shows within the state and aim to celebrate the tireless efforts that embody the values of the agricultural show movement.
