To say we were excited and proud of two locals winning the national CEF Alumni Awards is an understatement: Heather Walker - Launching Star; and Chloe Wilson - Young Achiever.

Both these young people bring a real enthusiasm and commitment to their pursuits. It is an amazing acknowledgment. Two other recipients were nominated for these awards.

Paige Hughes is just completing her last year, an honours year, in speech pathology. Not only has Paige excelled at her studies, she has a strong and vocal commitment to rural health services, wanting to see that living in the bush, doesn't lessen the health services provided.

The other nominee was Ethan Skinner. Ethan continues to excel in his studies. His achievements have been recognised by the university: the best performance in the double degree Bachelor of Mathematics/ Bachelor of Computer Science; and the highest ranked student in the School of Computing and Information Technology.

Congratulations to all our nominees.

What wonderful ambassadors for our community.

With the Matched Funding period just completed, we are very pleased to announce that we well and truly reached the $5000 target.

Not only have we had many donations, but our fund-raising activities, particularly the event of the year, the fashion parade of Coral Mitton and Chloe Wilson's designs, has really helped build our funds for the 2024 scholarships.

Our partnership with Grenfell Rugby Club continued throughout the year; gate duty for the home matches, often cold, wet evenings and afternoons.

We were presented with a very generous cheque from the club. We all look forward to this mutually beneficial partnership continuing.

Applications for 2024 scholarships are open. The closing date is 30 November 2023.

If you are a young person from the Weddin Shire aged between 16 and 25 and you have a career pathway planned, either an apprenticeship, university degree, a traineeship or TAFE course, you may be eligible for a scholarship. Find out more at cef.org.au.