LOGAN POWER LIST COUNTDOWN

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

40: TAJ PABARI

Taj Pabari, 20, started his career off at John Paul College where he was often in trouble and even suspended. But since leaving school, he has grown as an entrepreneur and last year joined the Australian School of Entrepreneurship as the chief executive.

The social enterprise helps develop skills of school students, and anyone aged 5 to 21, who has a passion for innovation. The organisation aims is to provide every young person with the skills, resources and mindset they need to start their own business. Taj was named the 2017 Queensland Young Australian of the Year and The Australian Young Innovator of the Year for 2014. He has given TED talks and has even advised Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk about how to engage youth so they stay out of the Justice system. He was born in London and moved to Logan, when he was one. He became interested in business and started his first online business when he was 10. He launched Fiftysix Creations in 2014 by selling do-it-yourself electronic tablets for kids. In 2016, Fiftysix Creations began running programs for indigenous students around Australia. He was given a global profile when he was a speaker at the World science Festival alongside Nobel laureate, Brian Schmidt. In 2017, he became the youngest recipient of the Queensland Young Australian of the Year Award.

39: NATE HAMON

Community advocate and musician Nate Hamon was making an impact on his local community before he ran for Logan City Council in this year’s March election.

The Eagleby father has played a role in Logan as a podcaster, volunteer, educator, family man, fitness trainer, and frontman for band Mayan Fox.

He was a founder and on the advisory board of Logan Live but has also been part of the Beenleigh Centre Advisory Group and a program facilitator of Loganholme Young Men.

He has carved a name as an impartial and fearless community leader especially in Eagleby, which faces social and economic challenges especially with plans for a super-highway through the suburb. Mr Hamon was an organiser with Helping Hands Eagleby South and a team leader during the horrendous 2017 Logan floods. His art work and creativity was on display when he formed Art Revolution and put up murals on the fence of the Beenleigh State High School. He has also made many alliances with his work at Beenleigh PCYC and as a project board member of the Beenleigh Community Gardens. His ventures with Cafe Lime, a not-for-profit cafe has also helped many causes in Logan. He has also held positions, including vice-chairperson on the Beenleigh State High School P & C and on the Windaroo State School P & C.

The self-proclaimed foodie has also written a children’s book called Twinkle.

38: PETER SLATTERY

Former Australian Wallaby, Peter Slattery, who grew up in Kingston, has never forgotten his roots. His distinguished rugby union career included 109 appearances for the Queensland Reds as captain from 1992 to 1995, and 17 tests caps for the Wallabies, which included being a part of the World Cup winning 1991 Australian team. After his six-year international career, the family man dedicated many years to repaying Logan. He spent three years in Japan before returning to live in Queensland.

He described receiving a Logan City Council Wall of Acclaim award as one of the proudest achievements in his life.

“I’m honoured and excited to be recognised alongside so many other great Loganites,” he said. “I have so many wonderful memories growing up in Logan and particularly where I grew up in Bourke Street in Kingston.

“I remember most of all, every time I left home to go play, I would have at least three or four neighbours out on their front lawns wishing me luck. That’s something I won’t ever forget.”

He was nominated for the award by his good mate and fellow Wall of Acclaim recipient, Brian Harvey, and his mother, Margaret.

Slattery was a schoolboy prodigy scrum half from Brisbane State High School after starting his career with Souths Woodridge Junior Rugby League, and Western Suburbs Bulldogs, the club he joined in 1985. In 1989, the playmaker fulfilled his childhood dream of representing Australia. He spent the majority of his international career as back-up to the great Nick Farr-Jones. His finest hours came at the 1991 Rugby World Cup where he filled in for an injured Farr-Jones, particularly in the dramatic quarter-final victory over Ireland. A year later, he toured South Africa and was given the honour of captaining the side in the opening match against Western Transvaal.

He joined the Reds elite 100 Cap Club after 109 games for Queensland. He is no living at Coolum on the Sunshine Coast with his wife and son and last year finished a research masters, one under a PHD, and works as a volunteer at the C2K Rugby Academy.

37: NICK CUMMINS

Nick Cummins’ influence stretches from the football field to the television screen.

Cummins is best known as the wild-haired winger with the knockabout “Honey Badger” persona of wacky one-liners and bullocking tries for the Wallabies and Western Force.

The St Francis College student grew up in Chambers Flat but moved to Sydney in 2005 and began playing for the Randwick rugby club. From there, Cummins’ star continued to rise as he was drafted onto the Western Force. Then in 2012, he was invited to play for the Wallabies. Cummins has scored six tries for Australia and won 77 per cent of games he’s played in. He later played two years with the Japanese club, Coca-Cola West Red Sparks.

Cummins rose to fame when many of his post-match interviews went viral due to his entertaining quips. In 2018, he appeared on Channel 10 as The Bachelor and he has also been a presenter on National Geographic program Meanwhile in Australia.

36: VU TRAN

Medical doctor Vu Tran is the co-founder of Go1.com, an innovative tech company based in Logan, which is on its way to becoming the country’s next $1 billion tech firm after a massive US80 million ($124 million) capital raising this year.

Mr Tran and four of his high school mates, joined forces to set up Go1 in 2015, which owns one of the largest online curated libraries of online courses in the world. Mr Tran has always been interested in all things tech, education and healthcare. He graduated as a medical doctor, a role he thinks has helped him as a salesperson for his tech company. As both a general practitioner and growth leader at a the booming workplace start-up, Mr Tran said his skills as a physician to communicate complex information effectively and build trust with patients were valuable. While he was studying medicine, his best mate and co-founder of Go1, Andrew Barnes, did economics and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. They started their first company when they were 16, and still in high school. His parents are Vietnamese refugees, who came to Australia during the early 1980s and his brothers and sister are doctors as well. He did medicine as an undergraduate, which is rare in Australia and then did an internship and residency at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. From there, he did a fellowship in general practice. He describes Go1 as “the Spotify for workplace learning”. “We aggregate tens of thousands of courses from providers all over the world — short online courses through to the very, very long ones — that focus on almost any workplace or professional development or learning topic you can think of. Then, much like Spotify, we don’t produce a single piece of our content. That’s not what we do.” As a co-founder of Go1, Mr Tran’s responsibilities include engaging with key industry leaders and stakeholders across all sectors including government.

35: ELIJAH BUOL

A former refugee who lost both his parents by the age of nine in the Sudan War, Elijah Buol has made his mark in Logan as a human rights advocate and a criminologist.

The 35-year-old has received many awards for community service, including the 2019 Queensland Local Hero award and the Order of Australia Medal .

He said the OAM confirmed to him that Australia was a great countrywith abundant opportunities and was where aspirations were realised. He said it was an inspiration to young people, particularly from refugee and migrant communities, whose hopes may have been overshadowed by the challenges of integration and settlement in Australia.

“It is my wish that the award will encourage them to exercise their resilience, aim high, participate and maintain Australian values embedded in our vibrant diversity.”

Wife Ashol said she was proud of her husband’s work to help society’s most needy.

The couple has four children and live in Logan, where Mr Buol ran as a candidate in this year’s Logan City Council elections. Aa a criminologist, he serves as Director of Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland, and spends much of his time helping young and disadvantaged community members integrate into Australian society.

He is currently studying for a Juris Doctor at ANU and has held senior and volunteer positions in the community and not-for-profit sectors. His advocacy was instrumental in helping remove children under 18 from adult prisons in Queensland.

34: GLENN OZZIE LAWRENCE

Glenn Lawrence is known throughout Logan for his work as a snake catch and as a volunteer, helping coach children.

This year he was a finalist in the Logan City Volunteer of the Year awards held in September.

Mr Lawrence moved to Logan in 1984, when he was seven, and became obsessed with animals and reptiles in the area.

“I was, and still am, one of those who always stops to let that family of ducks cross the road or check the pouch of kangaroos killed on the roads,” he said.

“And, of course, I am always assisting and rescuing animals.”

He said he was deeply inspired by his hero Steve Irwin and began to pursue his goals of becoming a full-time Wildlife Warrior and is now a snake catcher and relocator.

Since 2001, he has also coached children of all age groups in rugby league at Brothers Mustangs and Logan Brothers. He founded All Ozzie Adventures and Ozzie Snake Relocations in Logan and has been a coach and (International) with the National Rugby League and a motivational speaker at Oz Warrior. He went to Marsden State High School from 1990 to 1992. He has played a role in helping Biosecurity Queensland.

33: GEOFF TOWNSLEY

QFES Logan Area Commander Geoff Townsley took over the Logan Commander position in January. He has been a firefighter for 30 years and has been qualified as a fire investigator for about 10 years.

He was delighted to be appointed to the post as he believes Logan is a diverse community with many cultures and it allows him to interact with many interesting people. His wife, Cathy, is from Logan and her family members still live in the city. The 52-year-old father of two grew up mainly on the northside of Brisbane but has lived in many places during his childhood. His hobbies include riding motorcycles, playing in bands and collecting records.

Some of his greatest achievements have been as an investigator and determining the cause and origin of fires. His last role was the Manager of State Fire Investigation. He hopes his appointment will help Logan become a safer community, after the city was listed at one of the worst in the state for house fires in July.

32: RAY LEON

Ray Leon has taken on community roles in Logan since he moved to the city in 1993. The funeral director at Simplicity Funerals, Beenleigh, Mr Leon has helped out with many community events and is currently vice-president of the Beenleigh Yatala Chamber of Commerce. The 57-year-old was born in Holland and migrated, aged 9, to Brisbane. He grew up around Mt Gravatt, Tanah Merah, and Beenleigh.

When not working as the funeral director at Simplicity Funerals in Beenleigh, Mr Leon sings at many local aged care facilities, transporting residents back to their youth as he takes them on a stroll down memory lane through song. On weekends, he fronts a 70s rock band called The Grumpy Old Men, while during the week he can often be found performing an impressive catalogue of songs at aged care residences across the region. Mr Leon is also an active member of Logan Toastmasters.

His love for community has meant he has taken up many roles volunteering, entertaining, and at speaking events. He played a part in bringing to life the Old Town Soul project with Beenleigh school chaplain Nick Carroll and has been generous with his time at The Shed for Men and Beenleigh Senior Citizens. Mr Leon said he loves working for the community and believes Logan people help each other. “Logan is diverse in culture, history, and things to see and do, and I’m proud to be a part of a fantastic group of volunteers.”

31: JANINE WALKER

Janine Walker has made her name in broadcast and media as a journalist mainly with the ABC. After leaving broadcasting, she took up many roles within the community using her human resources expertise with a background in health, academia and broadcasting. In Logan, she is Chair of Metro South Hospital and Health Service, the provider of public health and hospital services in Brisbane’s South, including Logan, Redlands and Scenic Rim.

She is also a director of UniRecruit, which leads higher education search consultants. She previously held senior management positions including Griffith University Human Resources Director and Director of Industrial Relations for Queensland Health, and Industrial Director and General Secretary of the Queensland Public Sector Union. She also worked as a broadcaster and columnist and served for six years on the board of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and for four years as chair of the corporation’s Audit Committee.

She has held a range of board and committee appointments including membership of the Vocational Education Training and Employment Commission, chair of the Australia New Zealand Foundation, chair of All Hallows’ School and board member of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Griffith Business School, providing guest lectures and supporting research. She is a Fellow of the Australian Human Resource Institute and Australian Institute of Management and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In June 2019, Ms Walker was recognised in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours. She was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to education, to community, health and to the media.

LOGAN POWER LIST COUNTDOWN

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