So began the letter received this week by each committee member from Rural Women’s Network (RWN) project coordinator Allison Priest, confirming that the gathering of 400 plus rural women (and partners) will take place in Glen Innes next year.

The champagne flowed freely on Tuesday night as the Gather in the Glen committee celebrated the coup. The letter acknowledged the group’s excellent bid, which had galvanised strong community support from all sections of the Glen Innes district.

Committee chair Mary Hollingworth said the committee was overwhelmed with the 100 letters of support it received, including those from the Glen Innes Severn Council, local member of parliament Adam Marshall and many key businesses in the district.

The gathering will be held on October 9-11 next year at the Glen Innes Showground, with the support of the Glen Innes Showground Trust and under the auspices of GLENRAC (Glen Innes Natural Resources Advisory Committee).

Mrs Hollingworth said while the alignment with GLENRAC was expedient for issues like insurance, the two organisations have similar goals, “and we fit hand in glove.”

“The committee would like to sincerely thank the community for its overwhelming and humbling support,” she said.

“This support will ensure the 2015 gathering will be a hallmark event for Glen Innes, providing education, social, cultural and entertainment opportunities for the hundreds of visitors and locals, while providing a significant economic boost to the business community.”

Committee members now have a daunting task ahead of them, but Mrs Hollingworth said there has been a huge amount of work already done to get the initiative this far, and each woman will be delegated tasks which take advantage of their skill and expertise.

“These are busy women but every one of them responded enthusiastically to the opportunity to participate in this project,” Mrs Hollingworth said.

“They have no other agenda than to bring this event to Glen Innes for the benefit of the community.”

Now that the Glen Innes committee has the official go-ahead, Mrs Hollingworth said RWN and the Department of Primary Industry will be seeking state funding — as they have done in previous years — to support the gathering’s organising committee. Historically the state government has provided up to $30,000 for such events.

On the committee’s immediate to-do list is formalising arrangements with GLENRAC, finalising a logo for the event, and setting in place an operational template for the next 18 months. Committee members will also be attending this year’s gathering at Coolamon on September 12-14, and Mrs Hollingworth said there may be seats on the bus available to other community members.

In the meantime the committee will meet each month to plan the myriad of activities associated with the event such as workshops, guest speakers, social media, accommodation, catering, transport, CBD engagement and entertainment, and will use a variety of channels to allow the community to stay informed of its activities.

Anyone interested in the trip to Coolamon or seeking further information on the gathering can phone Mrs Hollingworth on 0429 345 255.