Local teacher and agricultural stakeholder Charles Mill will rub shoulders with the high and mighty in the agricultural sector later this month when he attends the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
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Although he is no newcomer to the royal show scene, this year Mr Mill is proud to be attending as a winner of the 2015 Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) Rural Achiever Award.
The St Joseph’s High School Aberdeen agriculture and primary industries teacher is one of eight NSW youngsters aged between 20 and 29 who were selected from a large group of entrants.
The award is an outstanding achievement for young rural people, and a privilege to be regarded at such a high level by those in the professional hierarchy.
The state wide leadership program recognises young rural people who are working effortlessly to make a mark on their local community and rural Australia.
Mr Mill comes from a strong rural background growing up on his family’s mixed beef and cropping enterprise at Myall Creek, between Delungra and Bingara in northern NSW.
The 28-year-old has been teaching at St Joseph’s for the past seven years in which time he has led the school team at the Royal Easter Show seven times and the Brisbane Royal four times.
After taking a year off last year to return to work on the family property, Mr Mill is back on deck this year and will again guide the school team of about 16 students and 10 steers at the event, which starts later this month.
The proactive leader has also been the secretary of the Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza for the past six years, a role he thoroughly enjoys as he is passionate about exposing youth to the agricultural industry and seeing them develop their own passion for the beef industry.
He has also been heavily involved in the coordination of the National Inter Schools Meat Judging competition.
As a rural achiever, Mr Mill will attend the show for 11 days in his role participating in behind the scenes organisations of events, as well as various networking opportunities.
One such opportunity is a visit to the state parliament and Government House to meet with the Governor General David Hurley and leading parliamentarians.
Other appointments will include a visit to The Land headquarters and formal dinners with RAS officials, public speaking and media interviews.
Mr Mill said it was an honour to be selected as one of the rural achievers, however he was a little surprised.
“It will be a great opportunity to network with other people in the industry and hopefully may open doors to future opportunities.
“It will be beneficial to get greater youth exposure to the industry and gain further knowledge and experiences from other people,” he said.
“I’m also looking forward to forming a better understanding of how a major show like Sydney Royal operates.”
