I saw a lot of the southern half of Australia during my formative years, with most of my time spent in South Australia's Eyre Peninsula and Western Victoria.

Growing up in regional Australia, I knew the freedom of open spaces. I appreciated local and homegrown produce and being part of down-to-earth regional communities—these experiences shaped my perspectives of life in our regions.

I have great memories of childhood holidays well spent with a fishing rod in my hands, sand between my toes, the cricket on the radio and a seemingly endless supply of freshly-caught seafood to keep the appetite at bay.

The first half of my working life saw me travelling regularly throughout the Eyre Peninsula and South Australia where I saw first-hand the gradual decline of many regional communities. You know the story - kids moving away to chase opportunities in the 'big smoke', shops closing as sales dwindled in the face of online competition, sporting clubs struggling for numbers and populations declining as small family farms were consolidated into larger commercial operations.

After joining WOOF Media in 2012, I recognised the opportunity that tourism provides for our regional communities.

I believe tourism—the visitor economy—is an opportunity for regional towns to think outside the square to solve many of the long term challenges of regional economics but do it in a sustainable way.

With today's technology, people like myself live in a regional location and work with people anywhere in the world. We're just one of many businesses proving that this model can work if you’re willing to embrace change and think differently.