Page 7 - AGM 2021 Booklet_Flipbook

celebrate that commitment of the women who make time, to dedicate their time,
to our network. It is possibly one of the most favoured times on the calendar, for
as a board and management team we are able to celebrate and endorse all that
these women are to the Network. They wear the brand with pride, they go beyond
the farm gate to ‘step up together’ as a group to bring knowledge and connection
often when their own world behind the gate is full of all the challenges that
they’re endeavouring to help others overcome.

Our partners acknowledged that we stepped up. We managed change and
challenge. Our capability and capacity were ever apparent. Their belief through
continued partnering is in essence an indication of the value that the commercial
arm of Dairy sees in us as an organisation and that we are able to deliver real value
in what we do.
A key take home this year has been that engagement is a highly competitive
market. We are spoilt for choice when it comes to upskilling, being entertained or
connecting. Webinars, Blogs, Facebook pages; Zoom and Teams are all platforms
available to each of us. We can shy away from this or we can embrace it – DWN has
embraced it. We will increasingly bring real, front of mind information through this
medium. We will also harvest “the gold in the room” for we have the depth and
the knowledge both within the Network and through strong relationships built up
over time to walk these changing times with you.

A culture of connection, care and transparency is often lead from the front, so
I take a moment to thank the trustees for all that they do and contribute. The
experience and the diversity of who they are, what they give and where they come
from within the realms of dairy and wider aids in charting the path of the network
forward. It’s also time as a network to thank and acknowledge the Head Office
team for all that they do. They push through the challenges to ensure that we
can come together, we can connect, we can learn, we can share… we can Step Up
Together.

Together we will navigate a future that has to look bright for we all know within
this network that this country was in part built on Dairy and ‘our future’ will be a
big part of ‘its future’. Food, the people that produce it and the communities they
live in are vital - let’s never lose sight of our purpose.

Annual General Meeting 2021 7