A new chairperson is taking the reins for this year's Miss Wagga Quest as entries open for the 72nd annual community competition.
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Alexandra Tierney took over from previous chairperson of six years, Larry Buete, and said she was looking forward to taking on her new role.
"I think it’s great to have a change up every couple of years with committee members, and having more than half as new members now, it’s great to bring new skills and ideas to the table," she said.
Ms Tierney owns and runs her own clothing business, Ted and Olive Boutique, and was the 2012 Community Princess.
The new leader said she plans on keeping the Quest traditional.
"We’ll stick to a pretty similar format to previous years, but may change up personal development plans and get new businesses on board for dining experiences and hair and makeup aspects," she said.
"It’s great to get new people involved with that element."
A new chairperson is not the only change to the committee, according to Ms Tierney.
"We also have a lot of new members on the fundraising committee to revitalise the events the girls get involved with," she said.
"We don’t have Qantas as a sponsor anymore unfortunately which was the longest running sponsorship in Australia, so we are looking for local sponsors to get on board now to see what they can offer."
The Quest has been carried out through decades of cultural changes, but Ms Tierney said the entrant requirements remain traditional.
"We have had a look at the requirements in previous years, so now we can have entrants in relationships or with children, but being the Miss Wagga Quest, we don’t generally take married applicants," she said.
"Having said that, we don’t really get married women signing up anyway.
"We are always looking at the future to keep it vibrant and relevant, so if we find married people interested, we can discuss changing it up but at this stage there have been no issues."
Applicants are encouraged to have sponsors upon entry, but everyone is encouraged to get on board regardless of experience or following.
"There’s a form to fill out on the website to become an entrant, and if you come up with your own sponsor that’s great, but if not we can always help the girls find one too," Ms Tierney said.
"We have two or three entrants at the moment but find people leave it to the last minute, so around six is a good number of final entrants and we can't wait to work with the girls on their confidence and life skills."
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