I WANT THIS CITY TO SUCCEED. I EARN MY LIVING IN THIS CITY SO I FEEL IT’S IMPORTANT TO GIVE BACK TO THE CITY THAT IS GIVING TO ME AND MY FAMILY
the best people for the jobs,” she said.
“Nobody gets a job based on gender. All the women in Townsville who hold positions of power in government, in business, work very well together. They all are working for a common good, and that is making Townsville the best city it can be.
“It’s a formidable group of women that hold these senior, high- profile, city- defining roles.” Ms Rains said juggling motherhood and her career ambitions was not always easy.
“As a working mother you just have to find a way to make it work,” she said. “I love working and love being a mother. What I realised early on is to accept I couldn’t do it all. So I got help with the cleaning, the housekeeping and that seemed to work – well, most of the time.” Two of Ms Rains three children, Liam and Brittany, work in the family business and her son Tyler Giudes is an in- demand fashion designer with his own label, Tyler Giudes Designs.
“Like any mother I’m proud of my children and their achievements,” she said. “They all have a real sense of business acumen, which is something I can thank my parents for giving me and now I’m passing that to my children in the small to medium business world.”
Ms Rains said small to medium business operators were the “lifeblood’ of Townsville.
“The small to medium business operator employs more people than any other large business collectively, “she said. “We tend to live, breathe, shop and interact locally so our dollar is going around and around.
“The best thing the people of Townsville can do for their own city is buy local whenever possible. The money stays in the town and it gets used again and again. One dollar spent at a local business will produce $ 13.”
Ms Rains said she planned to continue the “amazing” work of the Chamber of Commerce.
“The chamber will continue to unashamedly fight for the best interests of both this city and this region in these exciting and interesting times,” she said.
“I hope to continue the work of the chamber to be heard on matters of advocacy, on connectivity, city defining projects and job creation.”