Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday night, a record 450-strong audience packed the Caboolture Memorial Hall to honour volunteers and other outstanding local achievers at my annual Longman Awards. Frankly, I was overwhelmed by both the turnout and the calibre of the more than 75 finalists. The Longman Awards are a tradition which, first and foremost, goes to recognising the often unheralded deeds happening every day in my community. The doers of these deeds, both individuals and community groups, sacrifice pursuit of the personal to be there for the less abled and less fortunate. They are the emergency service workers, the volunteering seniors, parents putting in time at schools and sporting clubs, meal service providers and protectors of our beautiful natural environment. They extend love unconditionally, they feed, they clothe, they comfort, they raise money and they ply their skills to improve the material, social and emotional wellbeing of so many people. It is no overstatement to say that, without them and the wide array of services that they provide, our community would simply not be able to function. We would literally be at a loss. I am often heard proclaiming that my region is the best place in the world to live. I mean it—not only because of our stunning natural landscape, our beaches and our hinterland, not just because of our much-envied climate, but because of our proud sense of community and our ability to work together for the good of all. It was there in every corner of that hall on Friday night.

The Longman Awards also recognise accomplishments in fields such as small business, sports and the environment. Yet even here the emphasis falls on giving back, with this year's successes including former Narangba Valley State High School students Jamie Fordham and Jesse Kelly in the youth achievement category. Two years ago, when they were 16, the pair started Moreton Bay Regional Community Response to provide meals, job seeking and housing help and other services to those in need. They now oversee a volunteer army of over 60 people which offers dinners from Burpengary Community Hall and breakfasts at Redcliffe to homeless and disadvantaged people. The other 2014 Longman Award winners are: in seniors achievement, Janet Kirkley; in environment achievement, Jim Pulsford; in sports achievement, Ryan Hoy; in small business, the great team at Murri Medical; in community achievement, Bribie Island Lions; and the great winner overall, David Greig. Every finalist is a gem, and I thank them for letting our region sparkle.