3 March 2023

Show and excel: Cooma's Florance McGufficke wins her way to state finals

| Gail Eastaway
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Florance McGufficke has reached the final of the Young Woman of the Year competition, representing the Cooma Show. Photo: Supplied.

The Cooma Pastoral and Agricultural Association (Cooma Show) is celebrating the success of its 2023 Young Woman of the Year, Florance McGufficke.

Florance was named a finalist in the NSW competition at the Zone 3 finals in Yass and will now contest the state titles at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in April.

This is Florance’s second tilt at the competition. She competed in 2022 but missed a spot in the finals.

Florance is a true daughter of the Monaro, the second daughter of Michelle and Alan McGufficke.

Sheep and wool are in Florance’s blood. While growing up on her family’s sheep farm, Greendale Merinos, she had the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of farm operations, which gave her a solid foundation to excel during her school and university education.

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Florance attended St Patrick’s School in Cooma before moving to Frensham in Mittagong. During her schooling at Frensham, she was the vice head of the school cattle team, competing at local shows and the Sydney Royal Easter Show. She then continued her education, completing a Bachelor of Agriculture/Bachelor of Business at the University of New England.

Florance wants to connect consumers and producers through a more transparent supply chain while promoting wool as a highly sustainable fibre. It is her dedication to the agricultural industry that saw her awarded the Australian Wool Innovation – Action4Agriculture 2022/23 Emerging Young Leaders Scholarship.

Florance’s ambition is to be a leader, ambassador and advocate for young people, especially girls, by mentoring them to achieve their goals and aspirations, while encouraging them to embrace and support their local communities.

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When she is not working, Florance enjoys a variety of team sports including netball, rugby sevens, tennis and soccer. She has played and coached netball in Australia and England.

With her sisters Miranda and Ivy, Florance is in charge of the fun side of the Cooma Show 2023. The sisters put together a highly entertaining program in 2022 and have built on it for this year.

The show will be held at Cooma Showgrounds on 11 March, with the pavilion and sideshows also operating on Friday night, 10 March.

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