Jo Palmer has been declared the 2019 NSW-ACT Agrifutures Rural Woman of the Year.
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Ms Palmer is the founder of Pointer Remote Roles, based in The Rock near Wagga, and has been helping professional women in the regions find work from her farm.
NSW Minister for Agriculture and Western NSW, Adam Marshall congratulated Ms Palmer and awarded her with a $10,000 bursary at a gala dinner at Parliament House on Wednesday night.
Ms Palmer will use bursary to "create an online portal within Pointer's existing platform that will help alleviate the roadblocks that hold many rural women back from applying for remote work".
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"This online portal has the potential to reduce rural unemployment, stimulate local economies and reduce pressure on farming families looking for off-farm income to drought-proof their businesses. The portal will provide online resources, training and a formal qualification in remote work, to address existing barriers such as lack of confidence and understanding new technology."
Mr Marshall also congratulated the 2019 NSW-ACT AgriFutures Rural Women's Award finalists Ellen Downes from Canowindra, Lisa McFadyen from Condobolin and Karin Stark from Narromine, who were selected from an exceptional field of nominees and are leaders and role models for regional NSW.
The finalists all received a $1000 NSW Government Leadership Skills and Development Bursary.
Ms Palmer will now go on to compete for the National Agrifutures Rural Women's Award later this year at Parliament House, Canberra. The NSW-ACT Agrifutures Rural Women's Award is coordinated by the NSW Department of Primary Industries' Rural Women's Network with support from the Country Women's Association of NSW and NSW Farmers.
Mr Marshall said: "The four finalists are all fantastic role models and a strong reminder that rural NSW is in great hands."
Ms Palmer grew up in Jindabyne, NSW and now resides on a farm about 30 minutes south of Wagga Wagga. Her business idea came to her while she was on maternity leave. She took a friend's call who wanted her to work temporarily on sponsorship management. She thought she could make this idea work for more rural women.
She opened Agri Alliance, later rebranding too Pointer Remote Roles and has now helped many regional women land fulfilling jobs.
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