Gold Coast identity and owner of Wings PR Deanna Nott is now the longest serving public affairs officer at Royal Australian Air Force
A well-known Coast identity just clocked up 27 years in Royal Australian Air Force where she met President Bill Clinton and actor Pierce Brosnan. READ HER INCREDIBLE STORY
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FORMER Gold Coast Bulletin journalist Deanna Nott has just clocked up 27 years in Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) — she’s now the longest serving public affairs officer in the aerial warfare branch of the Australian Defence Force.
The seeds of service were planted in her childhood when her Italian immigrant father Tony was conscripted for the Vietnam War. He would often say to his little girl “the opportunity to serve your country is the greatest privilege” and that message took deep root in Mrs Nott’s psyche.
Born in Brisbane, she moved to the Gold Coast in 1981 with her boatie parents who had a holiday house in Paradise Point. She went to primary school at St Francis Xavier Runaway Bay and then high school at the now demolished Star of The Sea catholic college in Southport.
In 1989 Mrs Nott won the Gold Coast Bulletin’s university cadetship scholarship and started at the paper in 1990. During her tenure as the police reporter she saw an advertisement in The Australian calling for working journalists to become Specialist Reservists, serving as commissioned officers in the RAAF.
Never one to let opportunity pass by, Mrs Nott applied, brushing aside the unsolicited advice from many that she was “too young, too pretty and too Gold Coast to make it in the RAAF”.
Editor of the day John Burton provided references for her to join in 1993 and the ongoing support and encouragement she received from the paper enabled her to continue with duties until she finished at the newspaper in 1995.
Officer training at Point Cook in Victoria, the home of the RAAF, presented physical and personal challenges that the young woman had never faced, but she survived and thrived, soon becoming a freshly minted RAAF Flying Officer.
Reserve duty has sometimes required Dee to serve for more than 100 days in each year, all while also maintaining her regular full-time working life as a civilian and being a mother of two.
Her husband Patric Nott was a pilot in the RAAF for 13 years before joining Qantas as an A380 pilot, so work and family has always been quite a juggle for Mrs Nott. Once referred to as weekend warriors or chocolate soldiers, that would melt in the sun, Reservists are now an integral, seamless and vital component of the ADF.
For Mrs Nott, her dual-hatted life has never been so clearly defined, in fact the roles often blurred as only a year after joining the RAAF Reserve she was selected for a public service role within the Department of Defence.
Initially serving as a writer and deputy editor of Navy News, then while working at Defence Force Recruiting in Canberra in 1997, the 24-year-old spied an opportunity to become the youngest ever Staff Officer Public Information in the RAAF – a Wing Commander equivalent position at the age of 24.
Acronyms are a second language in the military and Deanna soon came to be famously known as ‘SOPI’ (pronounced soapy) across the operational air force. Sometimes she’d appear as SOPI, other times she would appear in uniform as the Public Affairs Officer (PAO) depending on the circumstances and requirements of the situation.
While serving as SOPI at Headquarters Air Command, RAAF Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains just outside of Sydney, Mrs Nott became one of the public faces of the air force.
During this period in the late 90s and early 2000s she handled media responses for aircraft crashes, shielded the media from families of those tragically killed on active service, assisted peace negotiations in Bougainville shadowed by her personal SAS bodyguard.
She also welcomed President Bill and Hillary Clinton on the tarmac when they arrived in Australia, escorted actor Pierce Brosnan on a navy launch around Sydney Harbour while he promoted his latest James Bond movie and volunteered for drought relief operations in Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya.
Mrs Nott has also assisted with flood and fire relief across Australia, co-ordinated media for ultra-long range maritime rescue missions deep in the Southern Ocean and served as Aide de Camp to Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson.
Marjorie was the first women to go to sea in the navy’s then newest Collins Class submarine HMAS Rankin and delivered prosthetic limbs to landmine victims in Cambodia with rock star Angry Anderson.
More recently Squadron Leader Deanna Nott has completed the Command, Leadership and Ethics Module of Defence’s Command and Staff College and is aspiring to her next promotion.
The Chief of the Defence Force has personally awarded his highest commendation for her work with the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) She also has an ADF Commendation for her efforts in promoting the benefits of Reserve service to civilian employers.
When she gets the chance to take off her Air Force Officer hat there is no time to relax. In 2016 she decided to spread her wings, resigning from her civilian position as Head of Media and Communication at Logan City Council to launch her own business, Wings Public Relations on the Gold Coast.
Naturally the business has a strong military client base, but also provides a range of communication services to government, councils and private enterprise.
She has served on the Board of Common Ground to help end homelessness, was a councillor for the Public Relations Institute of Australia to help those joining her profession and is currently learning to speak Italian.
Despite her endless commitments, she always finds time to nurture her two teenage children, Isabella and Alexander and says “none of this would be possible without my Patric.”
The pair met when Mrs Nott was a SOPI and he the “dashing” new Aide de Camp to the Air Commander Australia.
This year marks the Centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force and fittingly Mrs Nott was selected as a lead PAO for the RAAF’s 2021 media centre and asked to be the master of ceremonies for the official centenary reception, that included 60-plus aircraft fly past to be televised nationally.
Her resilience and dedication to duty was tested in the form of yet another COVID lockdown, requiring her to isolate in her Canberra hotel for the duration of the initial week-long celebrations.
Never one to be defeated she doggedly dealt with dozens of media inquiries while in isolation in her hotel room before a last-minute quarantine clearance sent her scrambling to don her uniform and dash to Lake Burley Griffin, the centre of the centenary celebrations to join her fellow aviators, a newly-minted term used to describe all who serve in the RAAF.
She then went on to help present awards during the centenary dinner with His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell and Chief of air force Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld.
The RAAF motto is “Per Ardua Ad Astra”, meaning through adversity to the stars, and there’s no doubt that this neatly sums up Mrs Nott’s incredible career to date.
30,000 inked: Meet the Coast's most committed tattooist
March 5, 2021
BORN in the 1940s when lips were luscious and eyebrows were thick, pioneering cosmetic tattooist Val Glover-Hovan has made her mark on 30,000 people over the past 36 years.
And the 81-year-old has no plans to down tools anytime yet, with clients from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth often travelling to her Southport salon, Cosmetic Tattoo Australia, for treatments.
“I remember when I was 50 and a client said, ‘make sure you tell me when you’re going to retire, because I’ll have to have my eyebrows retouched before you do so’,” Ms Glover-Hovan said.
“I told her, ‘I’ll retire when I’m 60’, then when I turned 60 it became 65, then it became 70 and so forth.”
Ms Glover-Hovan, who has been in the beauty industry since 1975, started cosmetic tattooing in 1985, using a needle in a bamboo stick. More than three decades on, she uses modernised techniques and new equipment that allows her to work on all parts of the female and male anatomy.
“It’s a truly rewarding job,” she said. “You have to have a reason to get up every day, be thankful you can, no matter what it is, it will get you motivated and keep you happy.”
Even with her optimistic approach, she will retire when she knows she can’t do it any longer.
“I’m sensible and I’ll get that message when it’s time to stop, whether it’s because of my eyes or hands,” she said.
She moved from Manly in Sydney to Seachange Lifestyle Resort in Arundel in 2018, leaving her established beauty business behind.
“If you’re in an apartment people wouldn’t know if you’re dead or alive, but if you’re not out and about at Seachange, your friends will come and knock at your door to make sure you’re OK.
“I believe it’s important to always pretty ourselves up and make the best of what we have. I believe we should put on our make-up and add some colour to the face. Keep beauty alive, it keeps you alive.
“We are living on the beautiful Gold Coast and it is indeed a place that is divine and attracts beautiful people as well.”
Coast singer's intimate exchange with Frank Sinatra - Dec 15 2020
WINNING a talent quest in Coolangatta in 1957 catapulted a 16-year-old Lynn Rogers into a musical career that would see her meet the late great Frank Sinatra and sing alongside Sammy Davis Jnr.
Now at 79, Ms Rogers shows no signs of hanging up her vocal chords despite an impressive career spanning 63 years as one of Australia’s most popular singers from the ’60s.
“I am only semi-retired, still singing here and there, not pursuing a career anymore, but I still loving singing,” said the resident of Seachange Arundel.
“The occasional jazz gigs, and the big band gigs come in and I am more than happy to do them.”
COAST'S BUSHFIRE SEASON OVER BEFORE IT BEGINS
Finding fame in the 1960s with her chart-topping hit Just Loving You, she jetted off to the United States a few years later and in 1965 regularly worked at the Latin Quartet in Las Vegas.
Later she was signed to the Astor Records and released three singles and an EP.
“I was above The Easybeats, and back in those days, it was male groups that dominated the charts. It was very unusual to have a solo female singer,” she said.
One night, the energetic vocalist befriended Sammy Davis Jnr after he got up during her show and started singing That Old Black Magic with her.
“Sammy was appearing in a show at the Palladium in London called Golden Boy, which was about a boxer, but I could never understand why because you’d blow on him and he’d fall over,” laughed Ms Rogers.
Sammy Davis Jnr took the stunning singer under his wing and was instrumental in getting her on stage at the Star Dust Hotel in New York City.
“One night he introduced me to Frank Sinatra. I was so gobsmacked I accidentally spat across the table on Frank. I was stumbling over all my words because I just adore him,” she said.
“Even to this day, I can’t believe I spat on Frank Sinatra.”
Upon her return to Australia for a brief stint, not realising the magnitude of her success and status back home, she was greeted by national media as she disembarked her plane.
“I was walking along the tarmac at the airport, and all these reporters and paparazzi were trying to get photos of someone, so I stood to the side, so I wasn’t in their shot,” said Ms Rogers.
“Well, on the news that night you can see me step aside and a journalist turns to me and says ‘Welcome back Ms Rogers, we’re taking photos of you’. I could not believe it.”
Ms Rogers said Israel was her favourite place to perform saying it felt like home.“I was the first cabaret performer to appear there since the war at the Magic Carpet Room in Tel Aviv-Yafo,” she said.”
I had been away from Australia for so long and when I came out on stage everyone started singing Waltzing Matilda. It was very emotional.”
Asked about her fondest memories from the ’60s, Ms Rogers said “if you can remember anything from the ’60s, you weren’t really there”.
The songstress, who grew up in Mt Isa, said she felt sorry for young talented people who didn't make the cut in singing contests because they had nowhere to learn their craft.
“The wonderful venues I sang in very early in my career are not there anymore,” she said.
“Oh and by the way, to me, today’s music is as wonderful as it has always been, different, but wonderful. Music of all kinds does the heart and soul good and brings people together like nothing else can.”
DANCING IN THE STREETS AND DRESSING UP HOMES - May 9
SEACHANGE Arundel residents were all dressed up with nowhere to go last night – but that didn’t stop them from cracking open the champers and partying in their driveways.
With more than 700 residents and 414 homes, a large chunk of the community would usually gather at their onsite country club on Fridays.
But last night they donned their finest and gathered outdoors to socialise, play driveway trivia and enjoy an evening dance. Residents also battled it out for prizes such as best dressed and best decorations.
Community manager Di Whybrow said the holiday at home idea was sparked because so many of residents had to cancel or postpone overseas travel plans.
“The enthusiasm they have shown has been amazing, with everyone dressing up. Some have even dressed their house and driveway for the party. I loved it when one of the residents said to me today, ‘if we have to stay at home to keep everyone safe, there is no better place to be than here’.
“At Seachange we are about building communities and it certainly will take a lot more than a pandemic to stop our residents from supporting each other and continuing to have a fun time, albeit now they do it with social distancing in mind.”
Seachange Lifestyle Resort operations manager Mia Pradella said she was focused on maintaining a sense of community at the resort, with safety of residents at the core.
“We want our residents to have the best possible lifestyle and continuing to support them with events and activities like this is key.”
Seachange Resorts at Coomera Riverside and Emerald Lakes are holding similar activities for their residents.
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