Clarence Valley Orchestra Medical Student Scholarship

somehow referencing and conjuring success from the very same hymn sheet. While the bash and crash of competitive sport is one thing, the pressure and grind of any given creative pursuit, is certainly another. There is no vocation or focus in life that when pursued far enough, doesn’t become a gladiatorial quest for the attainment of excellence. As such, one book that has inspired me over the years is called The War of Art: Win Your Inner Creative Battles, written by Steven Pressfield. You can’t read it and not come away thinking – I can do much more. Upliftingly, Pressfield notes, “Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us.”

It is the ‘unlived life within us’ that so much of our purpose, potential, joy, and reason for being resides; but sadly, for far too many people, this promise of greater things withers into little more than narky and defeated frustrations that amount to a life half-lived. None other than Martin Luther King, Jr once said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Or in other words, just take 5-minutes to think about where you genuinely want to be, and then devote yourself to doing whatever you have to do, to get there.

As if prescribing a ‘next step’ for each of us on our chosen paths to success, the backto-back winning Super Bowl coach Jimmy Johnson once chimed, “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going…The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”

Valley is proud to announce their frst scholarship candidate for their new Rural Medical Student Scholarship worth $5,000 to Mattea Lazarou in Grafton. Mattea says, “I have been fortunate enough to complete the beginnings of my medical education as part of the Graduate School of Medicine at University of Wollongong. With a strong focus in contributing to the health and wellbeing of rural Australia, the program sees students undertake a year-long placement within a rural community. With personal connections to the local community, I was thrilled to be placed in the Clarence Valley to complete this stage of my training. It is through my placement in Grafton and surrounds, that my own passion for practising rural health and contributing to the wellbeing of rural communities was encouraged. It was a privilege not only to be surrounded by enthusiastic mentors and teachers within the hospital setting, but to connect with and hear the stories of community members, both within the hospital and beyond. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to return to the Clarence Valley in this latter half of the year and undertake additional experience in both Grafton and Maclean hospitals. I am grateful to complete this fnal stage of training with the support of the Clarence Valley Orchestra’s generous scholarship. I look forward to returning to Grafton to work as a doctor throughout my career to give back to the community that has showed me so much kindness and opportunity”.

The University of Wollongong’s Dean of the Graduate School of Medicine, Professor Zsuzsoka Kecskes has commented that “we are very excited about the recent awarding of the frst Clarence Valley Orchestra Medical Scholarship and would like to once again congratulate Mattea on her successful application. In times when living costs continue to rise, it’s vital for our students to have external support and encouragement to stay on track toward their dream careers and to feel the impact their efforts can have on our communities. We want to express our gratitude to the Clarence Valley Orchestra for their incredible support - our partnership is a fantastic example of how community efforts can uplift and empower future generations.”

The idea of Artistic Director and Conductor of the CVO Dr Greg Butcher, says “the Orchestra is thrilled and has agreed to keep the $5,000 scholarship going over the next 2 years (3 years in total) as a way of ‘thinking outside the box’, hopefully attracting GPs to the Clarence Valley and wider area in the future. These scholarships along with other major community donations are funded from tickets sales from the orchestra’s major concerts. CVO’s next concert, An Afternoon at The Pops, will be their 10th anniversary and will be on Sunday 27th October at the Saraton Theatre Grafton, performing with the Comedy Trio the Kransky Sisters, with compere comedian Anthony Ackroyd”.

A Message from Professional and Amateur Beekeepers

Spray chemicals are an essential part of agriculture, and there are some crops for which the yield would be minimal without the use of pesticides.

Bees and other pollinators are an old but important part of agriculture, and in some crops are essential for getting a commercial yield.

However, some chemicals are damaging to pollinators, and others are really deadly.

This presents a range of problems for farmers, but there are ways in which these two essential components of farming can both operate successfully, without deadly overlaps. This has been recognised by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), who issue permits allowing the legal use of chemicals in