Dubbo's Melissa Woodward from Fearless Health takes home two trophies from the Altitude Awards

Ms Woodward left as the winner of the Purpose Driven Award, but that wasn't all. She was also crowned the Inspiring Individual of the year after being selected from the winners of all categories.

There were a record number of entries into the awards this year and recipients were selected from 12 categories, chosen for their outstanding contribution over a range of genres.

"My entry chronicled the journey I have been on through the pandemic to provide online women's health education and exercise when the industry was shut down," Ms Woodward said.

"As well as the relocation of my in person Remedial Massage and Personal Training business to Dubbo this year I have been able to show it's possible to successfully bring your much needed skills and services to the regions.

"My resilience, adaptability and passion have driven me to keep working towards greater education and advocacy for women's health."

Ms Woodward said she was "shocked" to win her category but even more so to take out the overall award.

"As small business owners we create these ideas around what a successful business should look like and often this is focused around money and growth. I feel that these awards have given me the opportunity to see your business purpose and passion means just as much," she said.

"It's not about being the biggest business but making a positive impact on your community and customers."

Fearless Health is a family friendly health and wellness space supporting women through the significant physical and emotional changes that come with pregnancy, post natal recovery, motherhood and menopause through remedial massage, exercise and women's health education.

Taking home the Purpose Driven award, Ms Woodward said she had always wanted to work with pregnant and post natal women as this was where she noticed so much physical and emotional change that was loaded with fear mongering, unsolicited opinions and lacked clear, practical advice for women.

"I also felt this cross over into my Massage Therapy work as women would approach me with myths around the safety of massage," she said.

"This level of misinformation was keeping women in pain and isolated as they navigated the challenges of pregnancy."

Ms Woodward made the difficult decision six months ago to relocate her business and family from Sydney to create a better life for themselves in Dubbo.

"In Sydney, I felt like I was working so hard all of the time and there was so much financial pressure that we felt stuck in this pattern of work and no rest," she said.

She had also lost her Dad to Leukaemia in January 2021 and needed to find a way to rest, grieve and take the pressure off.

"I also recognised that there was a space for me to bring my skills to the region. It has been the best decision for our family as I've settled the kids into school, have a great place to run my business, connected into the community and love our visits to the zoo," she said.

Initially, finding a rental was one of the biggest challenges involved in the relocation, it took the family three months and more than 30 applications to secure a home. Securing childcare was also a challenge Ms Woodward wasn't expecting, including vacation care for her school aged son.

But with the difficulties came a range of positives.

"The highlights have been the friendships being made as well as the activities we now have the time and energy to enjoy. My sons love riding their bikes and we love exploring the zoo with friends visiting from Sydney," she said.

The key to ongoing success of a business is connecting into a community of business owners, Ms Woodward said.

"As a small business owner I have learnt that while I may work alone, I am not alone. There are so many wonderful, supportive fellow small business owners who are there to connect and offer advice," she said.

When Ms Woodward lost her father to Leukaemia in January 2021 after a nine month battle with the disease, she was heartbroken.

It began during the first lockdown in 2020, so accessing services outside of her fathers hospital care was "really tough" according to Ms Woodward.

"My two sisters and I would juggle our schedules to get him to appointments. During his final days, his doctor shared how inspiring it was to never see Dad alone for any appointment with someone always by his side to show up for any appointment needed," she said.

It was then that the siblings realised that not everyone could have that level of support, especially if they lived in regional areas, away from major hospitals.

"After his loss, we decided to shave our heads and raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation to be able to support those that needed help getting to treatment," she said.

The sisters raised $35,000 for the charity.

Ms Woodward also raised $13,000 for Share the Dignity, a national charity that provides free period products for women and girls in need.

"Their Move4Dignity challenge combines my love of fitness where women commit to move their bodies in any way they enjoy while raising money for period products," she said.

In 2021 her team was the number one fundraiser and achieved the goal of funding a period product vending machine which is located in Junee Library.

"I believe that your business platform gives opportunity to give back to the community and I have done so by supporting a charity that has personal meaning and a charity that aligns with the women I aim to support in my business," she said.

In 2023, Ms Woodward wants to continue to grow her business in Dubbo to be able to support more women with their health and fitness.

"I aim to continue my mission to support women to heal their relationship with food, exercise and their bodies, especially for those that feel they don't belong in a gym or consider themselves fit or capable," she said.

"I aim to provide a realistic and relatable approach to exercise for women who have felt overwhelmed with fears and myths holding them back."

After being online, Ms Woodward would like to have a space to offer in-person fitness services.

"I have been in the industry for 20 years this year so I would love to mentor other health and fitness professionals to provide more services here in the Dubbo region," she said.

Ms Woodward wanted to thank Andrea Turner-Boys from Women with Altitude for creating an awards program that "allows us to reflect on our achievements and receive recognition for bravery, resilience and passion."

Women with Altitude founder and creator of the awards, Andrea Turner-Boys said the awards were an opportunity to acknowledge individuals who have made outstanding contributions.

"Small business owners are always incredibly busy and focused on running and growing their businesses, often with limited support or encouragement. These awards are a way for them to connect with their peers and be recognised in the small business community," she said.

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