Bancroft Community Champions Honoured on Queensland Day
0On Queensland Day, the Bancroft Community came together at the North Lakes Sports Club to honour their Community Champions at Chris Whiting MP’s annual award ceremony.
“There is no better day to acknowledge the hard work of local Queenslanders than on Queensland Day,” Mr Whiting said.
Queensland Day, which falls on June 6, is the day that Queensland officially separated from New South Wales, to become its own independent colony in 1859.
“Across Bancroft, our Community Champions are the people who make a great difference,” Mr Whiting said.
“This year we had a range of recipients, ranging from P&C volunteers, disability advocates, owners of local businesses, long-serving JP’s and foster carers,”
“One of the best things about this year’s awards was seeing just how big it has grown, we had three times as many people attend this year from last year,”
“The growth of these awards shows just how community minded people in Bancroft are, and that people want to make sure that those who go above and beyond get the recognition that they deserve,” Mr Whiting said.
The North Lakes Sports Club was again the major sponsor for this event, providing the venue and an afternoon tea for all attendees.
“The North Lakes Sports Club is a champion of our community providing a great venue, and funds to local sporting groups, these awards could not happen without their on-going support,” Mr Whiting said.
The award recipients were:
Paula Burgess
Paula is a tireless ADHD Campaigner. She founded the organisation Beyond the Maze, which provides support to parents and children with ADHD
Catherine Monks
Catherine is the Operations Manager for the North Lakes State College P&C. Described by P&C President and nominator Andrea as the P&C’s Guru, Catherine goes above and beyond what is required of her role, and puts in a great deal of effort after hours and on weekends.
Cheryl Bartley
Cheryl has worked as a JP for many, many years providing an incredibly valuable service to our community. She is the Justice of the Peace Co-ordinator for Deception Bay.
Anna Lumsden
Anna runs local speciality coffee shop ‘Told You So’. During the month of May she dedicated the business and its community to raising money for Peninsula Animal Aid – they raised over $3,000 all while making Australia’s Best Coffee.
Lisa Ann McKenzie
Lisa is the owner of the Celtic Barber, and you may have seen her online or on TV recently, after the amazing story of her two year journey to gain the trust of a child with autism went viral. She now opens up her salon to private appointments for children with autism, so that they can get their hair cut in a calm, friendly environment.
The Garth Family
As a family for over a decade the Garth’s have contributed significantly to many of the programs run by the Mango Hill Progress Association, especially their very popular Christmas Carols and Skate Nights.
Scott Stanford
Scott works as a volunteer for the Redcliffe Tigers AFL Club, where he puts in many, many hours to ensure the continued success of the Club.
Andrea Browne
Andrea is the North Lakes State College P&C President. Her efforts at the head of the P&C have seen it continue to successfully fundraise to provide better facilities for students & staff. The P&C also contributes at sports days, cross countries and other school events.
Elaine Hourston
Elaine is the Bounty Boulevard State School P&C President.
Ralph Ashby
Ralph was a long time stalwart of the local community and the Mousetrap Theatre. He was a regular in my office to get scripts, programs and posters printed and photocopied. I have been advised that since his passing two Mousetrap volunteers are now needed to do all the tasks that Ralph did.
Eileen Goodenough
Eileen is a co-convenor of the Deception Bay QDN (Queensland Disability Network) group, which runs events to provide information to the community, and advocates for the rights of people with disability.
Liz Hancock
Liz works as a co-ordinator for Kidney Support Network at Redcliffe and North Lakes Disalysis units, as well as the President of the Redcliffe Hospital Auxiliary. Both volunteer positions that provide an invaluable service to our community.
Sarah Crawford
Sarah runs the North Lakes Community Parents & Businesses Page, and it is great to see her back at it! This page is a focal point for the North Lakes region online, providing a valuable space for locals to find out what is happening, what local businesses and services are available, as well as get many of their questions answered.
Geoff Hay
Geoff is the Group Leader for the Deception Bay SES. Geoff has been involved with the SES since 1978. It is important that we remember that all members of the SES are volunteers – they give their own time to help out their community during some of the worst times.
Dr Subrat Mishra
Dr Mishra has been involved for four years with the ‘Speaking Out to Stop Family and Domestic Violence program. He has organised art exhibitions and auctions to raise funds for the Centre Against Domestic Abuse and the Sonshine Women’s Refuge Sanctuary, and many other groups who work to tackle the scourge of domestic and family violence.
Christine & Andy Young
Since 1992 Christine has been invovled in producing, direction and showcasing cabaret acts through her company Guys N Dolls revue, and have raised thousands of dollars for local charities through this.
Marney Perna
For many years Marney has been involved in many aspects of community life, from the P&C and tuckshops when her kids were in school, to her tireless efforts as a small business owner and her work with Soroptomists which have enabled the club to access grants to host community health and wellness forums.
Safari Watson-Feilo
On top of her athletics achievements, having competed at State and National Titles, Safari also volunteers at many local events including the Pasifika Families Festival and Nesian Nations Festival.
Tracy Watson
Tracy makes a huge contribution to the multi-cultural community we have here in Bancroft. She works as a tireless volunteer supporting sports, youth and cultural events. She was one of the lead organisers of the recent Nesian Nations Festival, in Redcliffe, which had over 20,000 attendees! She is also one of nine advisors from all across Queensland on the Multicultural Affairs Queensland Advisory Council.
Pamela & Des Gunnis
Pamela & Des have been Foster Carers for an incredible 25 years! They have opened their hearts and home to 65 different children in that time. It says everything to me about Pamela & Des, that they were nominated by the Regional Executive Director of the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women.
David Rauchle
Pastor David is an institution in Deception Bay. From his Lighthouse Centre he provides more than just food to struggling families, he provides any type of support he is able to offer.
Jeremy Arato
Jeremy is the head of the Deception Bay PCYC, a focal point for the D Bay community. It provides a huge range of activities and facilities for young people in our community.
