From law enforcers to entertainers, Logan has a swathe of standout characters and talents who have graced the world stages or helped with the world pandemic. This is the third in our series.

LOGAN POWER LIST COUNTDOWN

50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1

30: LOUIE NAUMOVSKI

There would not be many people in the community who have not heard of Louie Naumovski and his work through the Logan House Fire Support Network.

Mr Naumovski played a crucial role helping survivors of one of the country’s worst house fires which broke out in Slacks Creek in August 2011 killing 11 people. Mr Naumovski was working as a car yard manager when in 2011, 11 people tragically died in a house fire at Slacks Creek.

“That shook everyone,” he said.

“How could 11 people die in one house fire?”

Seeing how little support there were for victims of house fires, he founded the Logan House Fire support Network and since then, has made it his life mission to help families rebuild their lives after a house fire. He has also played a major role in getting the state government to tighten the laws around smoke alarms making it obligatory to install photoelectric smoke alarms. He has also waged an educational campaign to increase awareness about fire extinguishers, fire blankets in kitchens, and the need for escape plans in the event of a fire.

He has attended thousands of fires across Logan, the Gold Coast and Brisbane and helped countless families pick up the remnants of their lives.

29: SEN CONSTABLE SHARON MACRAE

Life has been a mixed bag for mum-of-four Senior Constable Sharon Macrae, who became a police officer after her husband died from cancer.

She has spent more than 12 years working in Logan and is known across the city for her tireless work with youth as Logan co-ordinator of Project Booyah run out of the Crestmead PCYC. She was also crowned Queensland Mother of the Year in 2017 with daughter Amanda describing her as the “epitome of self-sacrifice”. The 58-year-old credits police and her family as reasons for where she is today.

She has worked with juvenile offenders in the state’s Crime Prevention Unit but is also a passionate campaigner against domestic violence.

28: BERT VAN MANEN

Federal MP Bert van Manen has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2010 federal election, representing Forde for the Liberal National Party. He has been Chief Government Whip in the House of Representatives since July 2019. He is on the board of the Dunamis International College of Bible Ministries.

He played a leading role attracting federal funding for the M1 during last year’s federal election. Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited his marginal seat more than five times during the campaign and also visited in October, prior to this last month’s state election. He was born in Brisbane to Dutch immigrant parents. His father, a ceramic tiler, moved the family to Waterford when he was young and was educated at Waterford and Waterford West primary schools and at Kingston State High. In 1987, he married Judi, and they have two sons. He started work as a bank officer before running his own business as a financial adviser from 1999 to 2010. In 2007, he co-founded Vangrove Financial Planning with Andrew Cosgrove but resigned before KPMG administrators were called in.

27. GRANT RALSTON

As a detective senior sergeant at Logan Child Protection and Investigation Unit, Grant Ralston helps look out for some of the community’s most vulnerable. Every day, Det snr sgt Ralston works hand-in-hand with community members and groups to help keep children in Logan safe.

The senior detective devised a program, known as the Co-Responder Program, that is designed to inspire young people to move away from falling into a life of crime. Sen Sgt Ralston said the program was a joint operation that involved a police officer and a Department of Youth Justice employee to work shifts together to provide comprehensive support. The program also aims to get young people to see police officers in a friendly light. The dedicated units typically meet youngsters at skate parks and basketball courts in various locations across the Greater Brisbane region. A police officer for 30 years, he has been a detective since 2000 and has worked in the Gold Coast, Logan and Brisbane districts in uniform and plain clothes.

He became officer in charge of the Logan CPIU in 2016 and is dedicated to investigations involving child abuse, child protection and juvenile justice.

“I value the collaboration with other agencies and I believe we all have a common goal that we all work together to make the community of Queensland a safer place,” he says.

He believes police are just one “cog in a wheel” to protecting children, reducing youth recidivism and ending child victimisation.

26: JANELLE MACGINLEY

Janelle MacGinley brings all the skills of being a caring mother to her role as a business owner and executive running five busy McDonald’s restaurants.

The marketing guru had a high-flying role with the Marriott at Surfers Paradise before moving to the Brisbane hotel when it opened in 1998. However, she then ventured out into McDonald’s. Her first foray in the fast-food industry was to run the McDonald’s outlet in Marsden and her corporate experience paid off. She opened her fourth McDonald’s outlet in Holmview in 2011 and her fifth at Eagleby in 2017. She has been recognised for her work over the years with the prestigious Golden Arch Award, which is given to less than 1 per cent of McDonald’s owners and operators from around the world. She has also played a major role in the Logan community, offering a range of awards, and employment opportunities. She has worked hand-in-hand with YourTown to help youth. She has been in charge of about 1000 full-time and part-time staff across her outlets, which also includes the Logan Central operation and one at Beenleigh. Her staff is comprised of a whole range of people, from those who are still in school or education through to managers, a number of graduates and her accountant husband Peter.

25: DAMI IM

Singer Dami Im, is one of Logan’s most loved performers. She was born in Korea but moved to Daisy Hill in Logan with her parents as a nine-year-old child. The 32-year-old attended John Paul College where she honed her talents to become one of Australia’s most popular artists and songwriters.

She carved her name internationally after achieving the highest Eurovision score for Australia. She won the fifth season of The X Factor Australia and subsequently received a recording contract with Sony Music Australia, managed by Ken Outch at Parade Management. As one of Australia’s most stylish singing stars, she often wows the country with her colourful and deft outfits. She released her debut single Alive, which debuted at No1 on the ARIA singles charts. She performed at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and carried the torch through Logan streets in the Games Torch Relay. However it is her charity work with Compassion Australia that gave her a reputation for being an international ambassador. She travelled to Uganda to meet her Compassion-sponsored child just weeks after being named runner-up at the Eurovision Song Contest. She also returns to John Paul College to mentor and motivate students.

24: TONI PENNISI

With 30 years experience in the Logan City real estate market, agent Tony Pennisi is well known throughout the city and in Beenleigh. according to website ratemy agent, has ranked at No1 three times. He has built a reputation for wanting to bring about change within Beenleigh and bought the historic Savages Arcade in 2003 with plans for an overhaul.

He established the successful Beenleigh-based business The Property Hub and has carved out a reputation as an accomplished negotiator with a strong work ethic. He is known within the real estate industry for setting up one of the best real estate databases of buyers, investors and developers for the region. He started in the industry in 1987 and has dealt with many local council officers and is often called on to explain planning laws.

23: COREY AND MARGAUX PARKER

One of the state’s most influential sporting players, Corey Parker, lives in Logan with wife Margaux Parker and their four children, two daughters, Memphis and River and two sons Jagger and Wylei.

The 38-year-old rugby league great captained the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League and was a Queensland State of Origin and Australia international representative. But his love of Logan has kept him grounded here and he has spent time and effort with youngsters in the game, encouraging them to do their best. Parker is now part of the Fox Sports NRL commentary team. Margaux, 35, is also influential and was one of the hosts on Triple M’s drivetime radio show The Rush Hour and Dead Set Legends on Saturday mornings. The pair celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary on November 29.

22: TERRY BLACKER

It takes a good sense of humour to keep Logan entertained on a weekly basis. But Logan FM101 radio station manager Terry Blacker, or TJ for short, has that in spades.

The dulcet tones of TJ, the charismatic DJ, are heard every Friday morning when he brings the best music and hits to the airwaves. His radio career started in 1977 with commercial radio 6NW in Western Australia, where he presented a variety of “on-air” programs including talkback and interviews. He has also been associated with a number of radio stations across the country from Beenleigh to Gladstone and Rockhampton. TJ said when on air, the most important person was the listener. “I’m constantly reminded why people listen to the radio: entertainment, access to information, relaxation and Companionship,” he said. As 101FM station manager, being part of the great radio station has provided him with the opportunity to deliver the skills and experience required, to uphold and maintain the day-to-day operations of a successful radio station.

21: TONY SHARP

Tony Sharp is a social entrepreneur turning e-trash into e-treasure. His innovation, Substation33 at Kingston, recycles electronic waste, resulting in only 8 per cent going into landfill – with steel, plastic, copper and electronics components resold and repurposed for new uses. He was nominated for Queensland’s Local Hero of the Year in 2018. This year, during the COVID-19 lockdown, when the city’s high schools were closed, he made headlines helping underprivileged families who could not afford computers for home schooling.

He set about with a project to recycle old computers to build cheaper new ones after tapping into help from Beenleigh and Marsden State High School principals. Mr Sharp established a specialist team to develop products from recycled materials; such as electric bikes powered by recycled laptop batteries, and flood warning signs which won an Engineers Australia award for innovation. Substation33 has provided more than 150 first-time jobs and vital skills to unemployed members of the community. Mr Sharp is keen to encourage other entrepreneurs and runs two hackathons each year; one for social start-ups and the other for Engineers Without Borders. He also offers an incubator space for young engineers to work on their ideas for free. He has solved an environmental problem and provided meaningful work and skills for the Logan community. Generous, positive and incredibly hardworking, Mr Sharp is selfless in his commitment to his community.

LOGAN POWER LIST COUNTDOWN

50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1