It’s said that a change can be as good as a holiday, and I have often pondered the statement and
considered the reality of its truth; however, now, I’ve experienced it in a classic tale of irony.
On Monday, 19 June, I was set to commence four weeks of long service leave from my corporate role.
Instead, an opportunity knocked at my door, and I began a new position in my organisation.
I voluntarily forfeited my leave and hit the ground running because the excitement was more compelling than four weeks of vacation with no set plans.
The four weeks off was an opportunity to finalise my small business end-of-financial-year commitments.
Unlike some small business owners, the end of the financial year is a time I look forward to, but it wasn’t as exciting as an opportunity to embark on a new adventure in my career.
I lived and breathed the ‘change is as good as a holiday’ statement and can now vouch for it.
While it may have been a different set of circumstances had I had plans or a trip booked, it wasn’t the case for me in this instance, and it was merely a chance to take a break in the non-storm season.
With a big Scout camp in the middle of the school holiday period, my four weeks of leave turned into four days and today, I head to Samford with Gracemere Scouts to use those four days.
Changing roles in my career is not the only change I’ve undergone in recent months because I’m not attending the Scout camp in Samford with the Gracemere youth as their Group Leader but as their District Commissioner, a position I’m privileged to be appointed in since 1 April 2023.
Three youth members, a Gracemere Scout Leader and I are heading to BP Park in Samford for a Scout and Venturer camp where Scouts from all over Queensland will come together to make friends, find adventure and challenge themselves.
LEAP is packed with activities, and my adult role sees me responsible for youth wellbeing in the sub-camp I’m assigned to.
Two of the Gracemere Scouts and Venturers I’m taking are my children, so it’ll be extra special for me to watch them build friendships and networks around the state.
One thing I love about Scouts is that adventure and living life to the fullest are always around the corner.
My new position means I can see this for all youth and adults in the Capricorn district, not just the Gracemere group.
Very soon, my husband, Nathan, and I are sending our 16-year-old to Korea for three weeks, where 50,000 Scouts from around the world will come together for the World Scout Jamboree.
Mads will join eight Venturers from our district and take Australian flags with them, kindly gifted to them by Michelle Landry and Colin Boyce.
These youth members are putting the Capricorn district on the map and will make worldwide friends during their adventure, swapping badges, trinkets and stories.
It’s an incredible testament to their Leaders, groups and families for preparing them for such an adventure.
In a few months, I’ll also head to Maryborough for a Queensland-wide Cub Scout camp, Cuboree, and am lucky enough to have been chosen on their executive team.
Again, many youth members from our district will join me to experience the growth and development one can only be afforded through experience.
As Lord Baden-Powell said, “A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room.”
While I’m in Maryborough with my Cub Scout, Sara, Nathan takes our Scouts Alan and Mads on a Corner Country four-wheel-driving adventure with other Scouts from our district.
A Canberra camp at Parliament House is on the cards for September, and the New Zealand Jamboree is also on the horizon for Mads, Alan and me in December and January.
Joined by many from our district, Capricorn will have excellent representation.
I would never have experienced the incredible opportunity Scouts provides to adults had I not taken a chance and swapped my comfortable Chairman role for a section Leader.
Then switched from a section Leader role to a Group Leader position and now into District Commissioner.
In my career and life, every success and opportunity have followed lessons and failure, and every positive outcome has followed risk.
It was a risk to leave school after year 10, it was a risk to move to Longreach, and it was a risk to move to Brisbane.
It was a risk to move home to Rocky, away from the opportunities in the South East, and every career progression I’ve made in Rocky since returning has been rife with risk and uncertainty.
But what’s most important is the strong need to back me, which has been apparent and what has got me
through, of course, aided by my incredibly supportive family.
Part-time roles, contract work and leaving a place of comfort are what it’s taken to land where I am today and where I am today is exactly where I want to be right now.
While it might look like success, the journey here is the unspoken and unseen commitment, determination and hard work.
I’d happily do it all again and will continue to ensure I never get too comfortable and am constantly learning and growing.
A change really is as good as a holiday, even if initially it looks like hard work and discomfort.
