
Parkes Shire Council took out top honours in two categories at the 2020 Local Government Week RH Dougherty Awards for the 2019 Parkes Elvis Festival Communications Strategy and Council’s event activations for the 50th Anniversary celebrations of Parkes’ role in the Apollo 11 mission in July 2019. Here are Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM and General Manager, Kent Boyd with the awards.
Inland Rail Grants: Seven community groups in the Riverina and Central West received grants in round five of the Inland Rail Community Sponsorships and Donations program. Two of the groups are from Parkes: Central West Astronomical Society received $2,837 for the purchase of a data projector and batteries and $1,100 went to the Parkes Que Club to provide domestic violence bags for women and children.
Bush Photo Competition: Rural Aid is calling all photographers for their inaugural life on the land or in the bush competition open until 3rd September. “We want to see images, ground level or aerial, of our Aussie farmers and their families and a depiction of what their life is like on the land or in the bush,” said Rural Aid CEO John Warlters. If you need inspiration, check out their Facebook page @ruralaidaustralia and Instagram @ruralaid filled with great images of rural Australia and the farmers Rural Aid supports, who support us. There are great prizes to be won too. The competition will run from 10th August to 3rd September. Submit a high-resolution image by either posting the image on Instagram with the hashtags #RAPhotoContest & #SpiritoftheBush and tagging @ruralaid in the picture, or by emailing submissions to images@ruralaid.org.au.
Go Past Page 1 On Google: Do you want to support small business during this time of upheaval? Then, head past page 1 on Google. In fact, about page 6 or 7 is where you find the gold when it comes to small business. New websites have sprung up in the tens of thousands since the panic of COVID-19. There’s been a rise in “marketplace” websites like Spend With Us – Buy From a Bush Business Marketplace, that offers web stores to small rural and regional business owners for free or for a small investment. Small business owners have the products that customers want but not the know how or people power to ensure a consistent flow of traffic can open a store on a marketplace website, manage their stock and not worry about all the complicated tech needed to make sales online.

With all the rain there has been some spectacular cloud formations in the sky over the Parkes Shire lately.