Networking, connecting and social events are back on the calendar in Te Anau with the relaunch of its new NZ Young Farmers (NZYF) Club.
It became the third Club to launch in the South Island over the last year, proving the need and desire from young people for support and connection.
Te Anau NZYF Club Chair Ash O’Connell told REX Today she was approached by a few young people at Nightcaps Young Farmers who wanted to get Te Anau restarted after a number of years in recess.
It took just two months from whoa to go, to gather interest from potential members and get the club up and running with a recent AGM attracting 25 people.
Interest had just kept growing since.
“There’s new people to the area who keep approaching saying ‘hey we’d be keen to come along, when is it, what’s happening so it’s looking really promising,” she said.
“It’s good for the industry and it’s just good for young people to get out of home, especially over the busy times and just go have a beer and a chat and see what everyone else is up to.”
Making a point that you didn’t have to be a Young Farmer to join the club as the name suggested, she said its members were made up by school teachers, rural professionals and people working in other roles within rural communities.
“It’s more of an idea for people to get out of their home, go and talk to someone, especially over winter and busy times, people just isolate themselves and forget to get out and go and see other people and interact.”
The Club had been to a dog derby, undertaken a number of farm tours and also hosted a number of BBQ’s already.
O’Connell said there were lots of options on the horizon, and she was excited to see what they could do again in the community.
“That’s what we’re hoping to get back into, helping people who need help, in the best way we can.”
Listen to the full interview above.
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