Hamilton business woman receives leadership grant

Hamilton businesswomen Di Dixon is ready to make big strides in leading her community as the recipient of the South West Community Foundation 2022 Leadership Great South Coast grant.

Mrs Dixon said she has been looking to move into the community space and was recommended by several friends to apply for the LGSC program.

“When you get recommendations like that, it is hard to say no,” Mrs Dixon said.

Mrs Dixon has a broad personal history to draw from. Originally from a farming background, she has completed post graduate studies in agricultural health and medicine, worked in health promotion and then community health, now Mrs Dixon runs her own personal training business, running onsite and virtual training sessions with additional nutritional support.

“Family life took over for a while, but then I got into personal training and working with people one-on-one,” she said. “I look at both their physical health and their overall health and looking at all of the different aspects that play into someone being healthy.”

“Overall, I know I want to contribute to society in a meaningful way, I don’t know what form that will take yet but that is why I am doing this course.

“I would love to take the message of sustainable healthy habits we can bring into everyday life. What’s really important is finding things we enjoy, there are so many different activities that will keep us healthy we should find the ones we like because they are the ones we will repeat.”

Mrs Dixon has a personal goal to incorporate farming health and the overall wellbeing of the agricultural community into her LGSC program.

“I’m not sure what form that’s going to take yet,” she said.

“Receiving the grant from SWCF will mean a lot of my costs are paid for, it’s not costing me to attend the in-person sessions and field trips, which really helps me to be able to participate in the LGSC program.

“It would have been possible (to undertake the program) but it would have been a real stretch. Having been in business for only 12-months it would have put me in a position to decide if I can do this this year or delay until I’m in a better position.

“The grant has meant I didn’t have to make that decision.

“Thank you to South West Community Foundation, and LGSC, without community projects like this the course doesn’t run. And thanks to Alison Kennedy and Jess Fishburn for recommending strongly I apply.”

The LGSC program runs every year, and SWCF offers an annual grant to help a community member attend the leadership program.