Indigo Interview: A love of building community connections to make a difference

GEORGIA O’Connor grew up in Barwon Heads and moved to Beechworth 11 years ago with her husband. What do you do workwise? I look after our two little kids and work part-time as a community wellbeing officer for the Rural City of Wangaratta. I also support my husband’s business Halliday Design. What brought you to your role/career? I travelled eastern Europe in my 20s and became fascinated by the Roma communities there. I started researching and understanding how centuries of discriminatory governmental policies had disadvantaged that community until present day. I was fascinated by their resilience and enduring culture despite it all. It led me to want to contribute positively to the development of my own community, to try and help lift everyone in our community up. What do you love about your work? I love building connections with community members and working alongside all kinds of people motivated to make a positive difference in our region. What do you do in the community? I’m the president and co-founder of End MND North East Vic and Albury. We fundraise for Motor Neurone Disease, which is close to my heart as I helped care for a family member with the disease. We support the Beechworth Football and Netball Club’s annual ice bucket challenge and family fun day and will be held on 31 May this year. We also coordinate weekend away packages within North East Victoria which are generously donated by businesses. We use the packages to fundraise and promote tourism in our area. The latest package is an incredible weekend away in Milawa – including donations from Brown Brothers, the Lancemore Milawa, and Henleys Wine Bar and Kitchen - which will be first prize at the Rock Off MND gala in Geelong on 24 May this year. I do it because I love promoting our region and connecting the community, and I find it healing to give back and try to make a difference. Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing? I think there are a lot of people in our wider region missing a sense of human connection and purpose. What would you do to solve change or improve that situation? For those feeling lonely or socially isolated – small steps in building connections and interactions. Whether that’s leaving the house for a coffee, striking up a chat with someone down the street, or volunteering with one of the amazing local community groups. For those feeling well connected – being open minded and having time, respect and warmth for everyone you encounter. What do you see as one of the most important current world issues? I worry about society’s obsession with mass consumption and the associated waste, environmental damage and human exploitation. I wonder if we could reorientate towards a model that prioritises the environment and our health and wellbeing. If the person you would most like to meet or knew, came to Indigo Shire or was already here, who would that be, what would you show them, and why? I’m inspired by severe burns survivor and athlete Turia Pitt. She has gone through unimaginable suffering and displays incredible resilience. She’s into running and bike riding and I’d love to show her our rail trails. What book are you reading? ‘A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived’, by British geneticist, author and broadcaster Adam Rutherford. It’s about what DNA analysis reveals about human history.

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