Harvey Norman and The Weekly Times have announced Yass disability advocate and world champion athlete Samantha Longmore as the overall winner of the 2025 Shine Awards.
Samantha’s story is the type that drives you to keep going, no matter how tough things get, and shows that giving up is nothing more than a joke.
The annual program, now in its ninth year, honours women making significant contributions to rural and regional Australia.
Journey marked by extraordinary resilience.
Twelve years ago, just weeks away from starting training at the Royal Military College Duntroon, she veered off the road after an exhausting work schedule.
Two nurses found her and she was taken by ambulance, but the driver fell asleep, resulting in a second crash within 45 minutes. The accidents left her with a spinal cord injury and requiring a wheelchair.
Despite the life-changing setback, 32 year-old Longmore rebuilt her life through advocacy, business, elite sport and community leadership.
But, more than just a powerful woman, she’s a motivational speaker, disability advocate, world champion waterskier, mobile bar operator, weed spraying business owner and Bachelor of Counselling graduate.
She has also written six unpublished children’s books focused on disability and inclusion.
Celebrating super rural women
Harvey Norman Chief Executive Katie Page praised the winners and finalists for their ongoing impact across rural Australia.
“You and all this year’s nominees join an esteemed community of more than 1000 women whose stories have been told since the awards began in 2017,” she said.
Page highlighted the breadth of this year’s finalists, stating,
“Together, we continue to recognise those making immense contributions, from Paula Pool and Demelza Gardem, who have transformed the lives of children in North Queensland, to Ainslee Logan, who is a phenomenal 23 year old cattle muster pilot in the Pilbara. Our overall winner for 2025, Sam Longmore, embodies the very reason these awards exist. This is our opportunity to congratulate the finalists and winners – and as importantly, thank every woman who has been nominated for 2025.”
Herald and Weekly Times Chairman and News Corp Australia Community Ambassador Penny Fowler reflected on the awards’ long history of celebrating rural achievement.
“We have celebrated and featured more than a thousand inspiring women across rural and regional Australian over the past nine Shine Awards in partnership with Harvey Norman,” she said.
“These incredible women have displayed passion, courage, dedication, grace, belief and spirit, in their efforts to make their communities better places to live. Our company’s mission is to tell the stories that matter, reflecting our belief in creating positive change through news and advocacy and the Shine Awards recognise the incredible contribution our category winners and finalists continue to make to their communities.”
All finalists appear today in a dedicated 32-page Shine magazine inside The Weekly Times, and in The Australian, expanding the awards’ national reach.
Their stories have been featured over the past fourteen weeks across The Weekly Times and News Corp Australia’s digital and print network.
Alongside the overall winner, category winners for 2025 include Paula Pool and Demelza Gardem for Belief, Louise Martin for Dedication, Linda Widdup for Grace, Melanie Jolley for Passion, Carlee Knight for Spirit and Ainslee Logan for Youth.