18/06/2026
Last night, I had the great honour of receiving the Peter Tobin Memorial Award for Most Inspirational Speaker at Ballarat Toastmasters.
This award is especially meaningful because Peter Tobin’s legacy was built around community, service, storytelling, and the power of a well-used voice — values that sit very close to the heart of Avenir for Women.
When I first joined Toastmasters, I thought I was learning how to speak.
What I didn’t fully understand at the time was that I was also learning how to stand more steadily inside my own ideas. To shape a message. To trust my voice. To speak not just for myself, but for change.
Toastmasters has helped me take the deeply personal story behind Avenir and turn it into something I can share with confidence, clarity and purpose. It has given me the courage to speak about housing insecurity for older women, the importance of prevention, and the quiet potential sitting inside our existing homes, streets and neighbourhoods.
Avenir for Women exists because too many women over 55 are facing housing insecurity at a stage of life when they should feel safe, settled and respected. Our work is about creating practical, dignified, place-based housing options — and helping Ballarat imagine better ways to use what we already have.
A voice is a powerful thing when it is used in service of something larger than yourself.
With deep thanks to Toastmasters Ballarat for creating the kind of room where people find that voice — and learn how to use it.
