Queen's Baton an honour for Bundy folks
TWO local identities are part of the Bundaberg region entourage chosen to run the Queen's Baton Relay for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
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TWO local identities are part of the Bundaberg region entourage chosen to run the Queen's Baton Relay for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Jim Deem OAM and Chern'ee Sutton will join more than 1800 Queensland baton bearers as the Relay travels to 83 communities over 33 days.
The pair said the honour was a highlight of their lengthy lists of achievements.
"I feel incredibly honoured and proud to represent Bundaberg,” Ms Sutton said.
Mr Deem said he did not expect the honour.
"I am very happy about it,” he said.
The two each have high profiles in Bundaberg through their countless community and charity work.
Mr Deem has given more than 50 years service to sport and has received many awards, including Life Member Bundaberg Cricket (1975), Bundaberg City Council Senior Sports Administrator Australia Day Award (2008) and a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2014.
Jim Deem Oval was also named in recognition of Mr Deem's services to Junior Cricket in 1988.
"I never dreamt that when I first started getting involved with cricket, something like this would happen,” he said.
As a young talented indigenous artist, Ms Sutton has already stacked up a long list of achievements including exhibitions of artwork at Queensland Parliament House at age 15 and at the Queensland State Library at the age of 16.
She was the 2013 Junior Creative Australia Day Spirit Award winner in Bundaberg and was the 2014 National NAIDOC Youth of the Year Award winner.
Her newest artwork, featuring more than 20,000 fingerprints of Commonwealth Games volunteers, will be on display at the Athletes Village next year.
"I'm incredibly excited about the whole thing,” she said. "I am such a big fan of the Commonwealth Games and the opening and closing ceremony is what I am most looking forward to.”
Already, the baton has been passed between thousands of people across Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas and Europe, building excitement for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The GC2018 Relay is the longest and most accessible in history, travelling through the entire Commonwealth for 388 days and 230,000 kilometres.
Commonwealth Games Federation President Louise Martin CBE said the baton bearers would be an integral part of events.
"They will do far more than just carry Her Majesty's message, they will champion the spirit of community and share the spirit of the Games with the world,” she said.
"I hope it is a truly memorable occasion for them and all the people who support the Relay as it travels through Australia.”
The Queen's Baton arrives on the Gold Coast for the XXI Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony on April 4, 2018, where the Prince of Wales will remove Her Majesty's message from the Baton and read it aloud to declare the Games open.
Queen's Baton
The Relay started on Commonwealth Day, Monday, March 13, 2017, at Buckingham Palace when Her Majesty placed her message inside of the Baton.
The distinctive design of the GC2018 Queen's Baton captures the boundless energy of the Gold Coast.
In form and inspiration, the Baton is a symbol of our past, present and future.
List of baton bearers
BUNDABERG
Samuel Brillante
Ayla Buteux
Macson Cottle
Jim Deem OAM
Jason Dixon
Nathan Donaldson
Sherry Ey
Summer Farrelly Hart
Phoebe Foster Griffith
Raymond Francis
Robert Gardner
Vincent Habermann OAM
Lucy Hamilton
John Helmore
Kharla Hills
Wade Hogan
Craig Holden
Clinton Honor
Dan Keighran VC
Leslie Kuorikoski
Jeff Morris
Carlo Primavera
Dave Quaile
Peter John Smith
Trevor Standfast
Chern'ee Sutton
Jenny Waldron
Liam Walsh
AGNES WATER AND SEVENTEEN SEVENTY
Maxine Brushe
Ian Anderson
Allan Davis
Neale Inskip
Betty Mergard
Chris Palfrey
Mia Poustie
FRASER ISLAND
David Anderson
Nai Nai Bird
MIRIAM VALE
Pauline Dahl
Larry Halbert
Lyn Harms
Jamie Hartwig
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