She wasn’t sure her nomination was a "worthy contender", as she felt she was not doing any more than anyone else in the industry.
Luckily Bridget’s husband James gave her the push she needed and encouraged her to "just get on with it".
Bridget’s nomination came for her commitment to her community and the North Otago dairying community. She has worked as the engagement officer for the North Otago Sustainable Land Management Group (NOSLaM) and has now transitioned into a volunteer role on the steering committee.
She was also on the committee which brought the South Island Dairy Event to Oamaru in 2022. Bridget gave a lot of her time to others, cared deeply about her community and deserved recognition for being a warm and empathetic person whom people gravitated to, the nomination said.
Acquiring a strong work ethic on her parents’ sheep and beef farm near Waimate as a youngster, Bridget boarded at St Kevin’s College in Oamaru; it embedded in her a strong sense of service to others and communities.
She studied communication studies at the University of Otago, completed a graduate diploma of teaching at Canterbury University and then went into a teaching career in North Otago.
After the couple got married, succession planning prompted them to convert the McNally family’s sheep and beef farm at Maheno to dairy in 2007.
Now into their 17th season, they have continued to develop the business and added further blocks to the farm. They now milk around 900 cows.
The couple have three school-age children and when her youngest was old enough, Bridget took on the role of calf rearer.
This year she is teaching three days a week at Maheno School, "so I have demoted myself to just helping on the days when I am not teaching", she said.
Hosting the South Island Dairy Event was a major feat for Bridget and the committee.
The conference attended by more than 400 delegates is usually hosted in a large city. "We proved a small rural town could pull it off and it went really well. People loved Oamaru and all that it offered."
Bridget agrees she often tends to be an ear for people when they are going through challenging times.
"It’s not lost on me just how much of a privilege and responsibility that is. We all have our own battles going on — no-one is perfect."
Governance roles are not on Bridget’s radar — she prefers to be part of committees and working groups.
"I am probably more of a doer than a planner. I do say yes to things which can sometimes be my downfall as I can spread myself thin a bit at times. I just see a need and think ‘oh I can sort that out’."
She concedes those small things often snowball into much larger projects.
"I am motivated by initiatives that are inclusive and make a difference," she said.
An example of this is the Maheno Junior Netball Club. In 2019, when her eldest daughter Charlotte was 7, the club had not had junior players for a few years. Along with some other keen mums and support from Maheno Senior Netball they restarted the junior club and now in 2024 it has over 70 children playing.
As a qualified speech and drama teacher, Bridget has used this skill to empower the next generation through sourcing funding and working in some local schools delivering SpeechNZ oral communication assessments.
"I am passionate about public speaking and teaching those skills early to our rural kids, before the fear sets in." She has furthered her skill by recently completing a certificate in teaching professional speaking and would love, when time allows, to one day teach adults, particularly migrant communities.
"I love to build confidence in people and seeing how far they can go in life with that extra spring in their step."
