How your community stalwart can get acknowledged for their dedication
The Queensland statewide winner will receive $7500.
Gladstone
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If your community has a person or group whose dedication to their region is inspiring and unwavering, why not nominate them for a Royal Flying Doctor Service Local Hero Award.
The 2021 RFDS Local Hero Awards were launched on Tuesday, providing an
opportunity to recognise selfless members of the community who have gone above and
beyond to help others.
RFDS Queensland chief executive officer Meredith Staib invited Queenslanders to nominate unsung heroes who had helped the service.
“Nominees may be a volunteer or fundraiser, a first responder who assisted in an emergency
until the RFDS could arrive, or a healthcare advocate who promotes better health outcomes
for people in their community,” she said.
“These people are often the lifeblood of their communities and we want to learn more about
them.
“Our 2021 Queensland Hero will receive a $7500 grant, courtesy of Ergon Energy Retail, to
promote a healthcare initiative in their community.”
Winners of the RFDS Local Hero award last year included the Rotary Club of Bundaberg, for their fundraising and volunteer efforts.
“The calibre of nominations was incredibly high,” Ms Staib said.
“Such was the difficulty in determining just nine regional winners, we acknowledged five other nominees with special awards honouring their contribution.
“We simply could not perform the work we do without the help of our supporters, so it gives me great pleasure to take this opportunity to recognise their hard work.”
The statewide winner last year was Ilfracombe Police Station Senior Constable Bede Little, who was honoured with the RFDS Local Hero Queensland for his continuous dedication to the community.
“To be judged our Queensland Hero by way of public vote is a testament to the impact which Mr Little has no doubt had on his community,” Ms Staib said.
“Mr Little’s actions also clearly resonated with the wider voting public, as community members statewide learnt more about his story via the Local Hero website.”
In launching the awards, Ms Staib said the RFDS relished the opportunity to show
appreciation for the generosity of volunteers.
“Award recipients can be nominated from each of the nine RFDS Queensland Base regions
– Brisbane, Bundaberg, Cairns, Charleville, Longreach, Mount Isa, Rockhampton, Roma and
Townsville,” she said.
“I’m very grateful to our major partners for helping us to shine a light on our local heroes.”
Ergon Energy Retail executive general manager Ayesha Razzaq said the business was
committed to supporting the work of regional Queenslanders across the state and was looking
forward to again recognising the outstanding work of so many quiet achievers.
“This is our sixth year as a proud partner of the Local Hero Awards and every year that goes
by, we are more impressed by the nominations,” Ms Razzaq said.
“I’m really looking forward to hearing who this year’s overall winner is and how they’ll use the grant to help improve community health outcomes in their local area.”
To nominate visit the RFDS website.
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