We were very surprised and pretty blown away when outgoing President of the Australian Nappy Association, Jannine Barron, announced that our own Fiona was being awarded the inaugural ANA President's Award for outstanding industry contribution to the ANA's mission of growing cloth nappy use across Australia!
Here's part of Fiona's acceptance speech:
"There are heaps of awesome people in the Australian Nappy Association, including some truly stand out members who volunteer time and energy (that they probably can’t really spare!) to make the ANA work, and they all deserve this award. The ANA was established on the basis that by working together we could make a huge difference, and I think that’s been proven time and again.
"I do what I do for the ANA because I believe the long term benefits to my family, my business, the community, the environment, and basically the whole world are worth it! I want to see reusable nappies being considered a mainstream option for parents, education and support being readily available, and the cloth nappy industry making huge inroads into a market dominated by disposables. I cannot do this by myself. Darlings Downunder, in spite of its longevity and reputation as a reusable nappy specialist can’t do it without help either. The ANA is how I believe we will achieve this together.
"I could not have been as involved in the ANA as I am if it weren’t for Catherine, my sister and business partner. Darlings Downunder is a full time job for both of us, so Catherine picks up the slack to keep our business running smoothly when I’m off ‘ANAing’. So this award belongs to her too...
"Thanks to Jannine Barron, outgoing president of the ANA, for creating this award. Hopefully it will be as hard to choose a winner every year as I’m sure it was this year."