Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to pay tribute to a local champion who sadly passed away last week. Chris Sharp—or Sharpie, as he was known to many of us—was one of those people I refer to as the BPs of the community—a quiet achiever. Chis never wanted or liked the limelight or being the centre of attention. He was much more comfortable behind a barbecue cooking a snag or helping youth at a Caboolture Rotary youth driver awareness program. Chris was a proud Rotarian and was always one of the first to put up his hand to volunteer at one of our many Rotary club events.

A passionate community man, Chris was also involved in assisting with practical solutions, such as the Wunya project, which provides clothing and non-perishable food for those doing it tough in the Caboolture community, as well as with the all-abilities play space at the CREEC project in Burpengary. Chris used his considerable business contact list, accumulated over a long career in local real estate, to obtain goods and services at either reduced or no cost for community projects, unashamedly embarrassing local businesses into giving back to the community that supported their businesses.

Always on the go, Sharpie continued a lawn-care business in retirement to stay busy after a back injury prevented him from partaking in his beloved golf at the Caboolture Golf Club, where I first met Chris over 20 years ago. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Chris's wife, Cheron, and the rest of his family. Rest in peace, Sharpie. You'll be missed.