Shona Eichorn is back home - only the home has had some major extensions.
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That home is the Northern Inland Academy of Sport where Eichorn, who takes over from James Cooper, has returned to the role of CEO after being the inaugural NIAS executive officer from 1992 to 1997.
On Monday, an excited Eichorn had her first day back in the job at the organisation which had "exponentially grown" in terms of supporters to sports, to coaches and sponsors.
All positives which helped create more opportunities for the also-growing number of athletes across the region.
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Eichorn is based in Armidale and will work out of Tamworth mainly but she'll be "travelling quite a lot" to ensure athletes can access those opportunities within their sports.
"I'm pretty excited to be back in this role," Eichorn said.
She added: "I like being on the road. I like being out communicating with people in their own home areas.
"Ensuring that NIAS is relevant to our regional community is what my mantra will be moving forward."
Eichorn returns to NIAS from Presbyterian Ladies' College in Armidale where she has been director of development since 2013 - an executive role working in the area of community engagement, marketing, and advancement.
She has also worked in the corporate, sport and education sectors, as well as small business, and volunteered in many sports and other community organisations since first finishing up with NIAS in 1997.
In that time away, another thing that was grown at NIAS is the list of alumni.
Just like the organisation, that list has ballooned and Eichorn has heard from some alumni recently.
The first people to congratulate Eichorn on her new role were two of NIAS' very first athletes.
Eichorn said they were now giving back, just like a whole range of other former NIAS athletes are.
"My focus moving forward is to reach out to a great many of our alumni because they're the ones, and this is what we're trying to instil in this generation of NIAS athletes, to be become contributors to their community, to give back to their community," she said.
"I look at people now like Dean Widders, who's doing a lot in the indigenous space, and Nathan Blacklock. Paula Murphy's been involved with sport, in particular cricket in Tamworth, and also she was on the NIAS board.
"Rochelle Joyce, with netball in Armidale, has been a huge contributor to that space... so they're the sorts of contributions that NIAS athletes do bring to our community.
"Having been through the program and seeing what it can do, I guess I've always believed in NIAS and what it can do for everyone who's involved - not just the athlete."
Eichorn, fittingly, has also returned just before a big anniversary.
"2022 will be the 30-year milestone for NIAS and we're one of 11 regional academies in NSW. It's a nice opportunity for us to reflect and celebrate the past but also what will our impact and our legacy be moving forward," Eichorn said.
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Ben Jaffrey
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
