The title of Queensland’s State Showgirl has, for the second year in a row, been awarded to a Burnett contestant, with the honour for 2021 going to Mundubbera nurse Brittany Kugel.
Ms Kugel attended the State finals in Brisbane last month, where she was announced as the winner, coming out on top over ten other skilled and passionate contestants.
The Mundubbera resident, who works as a nurse at the local hospital, said that she was surprised and overjoyed to hear the news of her victory, adding that her receiving the title of State Showgirl may give hope to others with similar backgrounds.
“Many people believe that you need to be on a farm or you need to have a long-standing involvement in the Show Society; because of that [many people believe] it’s not applicable to them,” Ms Kugel said.
“I was one of those people that went ‘hey you know, I’ll give it a go’ but I didn’t really know if I could take it all the way.
“I said to myself ‘I’m just gonna go there, I’m gonna be myself, and I’m going to display the immense passion I have for my community and my Show Society’.”
Queensland’s Showgirl said she was inspired to enter the competition after talking to a friend and co-worker of hers, who is part of the local Show Society in Mundubbera.
This push led her to claim the title of Mundubbera Showgirl, followed by the chance to represent the Burnett subchamber in the 2021 State finals.
Ms Kugel spent several days in Brisbane as part of the finals, meeting politicians, attending professional development workshops, and giving interviews to the judges.
She explained that following her win, she is keen to attend a wide range of conferences and shows in the coming months in order to meet other State representatives.
“I’ve kind of been mapping out a bit of a plan to go around the State and attending the various shows and catching up with my fellow State finalists,” she said.
“It’s such an important position that I now have, and I’m extremely privileged to have that role and, to the best of my ability, help others and empower them.”
