By Sue Balsom, Welsh Woman of the Year 2004

Established in 1994, Welsh Woman of the Year is now the key focus for celebrating women’s achievements across all walks of life in Wales. For me, winning the overall title was both a terrific surprise and a great honour.

As a result, during the past year, I have had the privilege to meet and work with a great variety of women throughout Wales. It has been in turn enlightening, entertaining and hugely humbling to learn of enterprise against the odds and of astonishing management achievements in the workplace.

I have also met a wide range of enthusiastic women, from groups of young students to disabled women whose determination is awe-inspiring. Almost every woman I have met in my role as Welsh Woman of the Year is juggling a host of different roles, but what is striking is that so many are deeply involved in their communities. They demonstrate, in a very practical way, the value of women in civic society and the important contribution we make at all levels.

My own background is as a Small Business Owner in rural Wales. Like other women, I also enjoy being a wife and mother, as well as being involved in community and public life.  Coincidentally, 2005 is the Year of the Volunteer and, voluntary service has always been for me a great way to learn with and from others. It was therefore a very special privilege to be invited to chair one of Wales’s most worthwhile charities, the Prince’s Trust Cymru (PTC).

Each year PTC helps some 7,000 of our most disadvantaged young people in Wales. I am sure that the many friends and contacts I have made as Welsh Woman of the Year will enable me to further the work of the Trust in helping some of the hardest to reach in our communities

Undoubtedly, being Welsh Woman of the Year has opened many doors and as well as being a lot of fun, the year has benefited me personally as well as my company. The competition, sponsored by the Western Mail, has become a national institution and has done much to boost the confidence, as well as the profile, of women in Wales

I wish all this year’s competitors and my successor the very best of luck – not least, because we’re worth it!

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