Rachel Jenkinson from Operation Sugar is NEXT Woman of the year nominee

I can hardly contain myself, I have the most exciting news to announce. Rachel Jenkinson from Operation Sugar is a finalist with NEXT magazine for "NEXT Woman of the year".

Earlier this year I nominated Rachel for this award. I spent quite some time preparing a detailed application for everything Rachel does behind the scenes for Operation Sugar. This was an eye opener for me, as she does a lot more than any of us could imagine. I had great fun collating all of the wonderful press clippings about Operation Sugar that have appeared in newspapers, as well as on radio & TV across New Zealand.

It's been hard to keep the secret for the last month, until NEXT magazine came out today. Rachel is one of 5 nominees in the Community category and joins 24 other wonderful New Zealand women. 

The winner will be announced at a gala event in October at the Orakei Bay function centre. I'm extremely proud to be accompanying Rachel, along with her sister Tracey to the event as her date. 

Rachel and I have spent each afternoon for weeks messaging the odd thought for what we'll do while she is in Auckland (Rachel is from Balclutha, so her trip to Auckland will be her first time visiting). I think all of the ideas Rachel and I have come up with so far will require a year to do, so we'll have to work on narrowing our list down.

Rachel has received a snazzy invite for dinner and we've organised our glad rags

I am really looking forward to the awards evening. I was a nominee in the business category of the Inaugural "NEXT Woman of the year" in 2010 (you can read about my involvement here & here & also here). It was a humbling experience for me to be surrounded by such high achieving woman. I am thrilled to be accompanying Rachel in recognition of her amazing achievements with Operation Sugar. I'll be bringing you updates of our Auckland jaunts, as well as bringing you details of the awards night next month.

Please head on over to Operation Sugars Facebook page and leave a note of congratulations for Rachel here.

You can find out more about Operation Sugar here. If you are in a position to give a little, to help with the running of Operation Sugar, you can make a donation of any amount here. And Operation Sugar is always looking for more volunteer bakers & photographers too - check out their website.