Peter and Regina gossip: Burleigh’s Sophie Ackerman tackles top model and more

From strutting the sandy shores of Burleigh Heads to a catwalk in Australia’s most famed modeling competition, the world is young Sophie Ackerman’s oyster. Read this gossip and more.

This could be the start of something big.

A month ago we wrote about 15-year-old Sophie Ackerman, a Burleigh Heads schoolgirl, who had been selected in the Top Model Australia 2022 National Final in Melbourne.

Last Sunday was the big day and our Sophie, the youngest entrant in the field, was placed a very creditable third.

15-year-old Burleigh girl Sophie Ackerman has taken on the competition in this year’s Top Model competition. Picture: supplied

In just over a year Sophie has transformed from a shy, unsure teenager to a confident and strong young woman ready to take on the world.

What she particularly liked about her time in Melbourne was the partnership between Top Model Australia and Bully Zero.

“All of the contestants were asked to participate in workshops with the aim of being ambassadors within their schools or community to raise awareness of the problem,” said Sophie.

Remember When:

This rather straight “team” photo from 1987 marks a significant change in the history of our city.

It features the leading lights of what was to be Bond University, who were charged with creating what was to become one of Australia’s leading universities.

Bond University 1st Committee 1987. Picture: Regina King

Alan Bond, Sir Sydney Schubert, the first Chancellor, and Professor Don Watts, the inaugural Vice-Chancellor, are seated in the front row. Japanese development company EIE partnered with Alan Bond’s company to create a unique and fully independent tertiary institution.

Records show that the two years of construction until its opening in 1989 were up to that time the wettest on record, hampering the completion.

Fast-forward to now and the significance of the education sector to the economy of our city has never been stronger.

Olsson on love for the Coast

There are many reasons why people from across the world come to live on the Gold Coast. For Brisbane social scene regular Dale Olsson her move was dictated by a bad fall which smashed her ankle, thus making her home with multiple steps too hard to navigate.

Dale Olsson and $5,000 TAG Heuer watch at JW Marriott Resort, Surfers Paradise. Picture: Supplied.

“My daughter Fleur lived down here so my husband Jim and I decided to make the move,” said Dale.

She now has another reason to celebrate the move having picked up the major door prize, a $5000 TAG Heuer watch, at the Winter White Long Lunch.

“The watch is a major bonus,” she laughed. “I love living down here. The local ladies have been so welcoming and the social functions are glamorous and such fun. Everything has changed since the days of the Pink Elephant Bar and Giggle and Gossip lunches, but it is such an exciting and vibrant city that Jim and I are happy to call home.”

A real-life sliding doors moment for Surfers Paradise MP John-Paul Langbroek.

At the Magic Millions this year he got chatting to comedienne Nikki Osborne. A few months later he received a call asking if he would take part in a pilot TV show she was shooting for Channel 10. It is called The Bush Blonde Vs The World.

The show is a satirical take on Australian life, including politics, with a khaki-clad Nikki as a female combination of Steve Irwin and Russell Coight.

“She rang because I was the only politician she knew so I was happy to oblige. The language was a bit colourful and I gave her some tongue-in-cheek advice about how to run for office.

“The best line was when she looked down at my bright orange, suede Italian loafers and remarked that I looked like a well-dressed duck.”

Duck a l ’Orange anyone?

Andy’s big idea

Andy James is literally the man with a million ideas and watching the Gold Coast Suns’ epic, last-gasp win against Richmond on the weekend has produced another flash of inspiration.

Andy James. Picture: supplied

“The Suns are in the fight to make the eight for the first time so I looked at their draw and thought which match would be the best chance to sell out Metricon Stadium.

On August 13 the Suns play Geelong, who sit third on our list of biggest home games. The Cats always draw a big crowd so I’ve reached out to the Suns, Triple M, Channel 7 and the AFL in Melbourne to get them on-board to promote the game like no other.

“The aim is to get a new record of 25,000 people to the game, sell out the stadium and create an atmosphere similar to State of Origin III on Wednesday night at Suncorp Stadium.

“Home-ground support has a massive effect on teams and in the race to the finals the Suns need every little bit of help they can get. Go SUNS!!”

We’ve got this.

Jude behind the scenes

Jude Kalman, wife of city councillor Glenn Tozer, is someone who believes firmly in using your talents to help others.

As a talented film and documentary maker she has worked most of her life creating high-end productions for clients on jobs around the world.

Jude Kalman and Cr Glenn Tozer at launch of Big City Lights at Mr P.P's, Southport. Picture: Regina King

“I spent over 10 years with Ravel, which was previously FotoMedia, on a variety of projects,” she explained.

“I decided to follow my heart and use my skills to help charities, not-for-profits and social enterprises. Basically, I got sick of seeing dodgy videos being used to try and tell their story.

“It’s not their fault as their skill is doing the hard work so my production house, Little Drum Pictures, has offered to help them where I can. It is just my way of helping out because those entities have enough to do and don’t possess the skill set that I have developed over years of working in the industry.

“My production company is growing but this is my way of showing the charities in their best light. I’m about to release a feature-length documentary to celebrate 25 years of service for disaster relief charity Global Care Australia.

“I’ve also been working with Eczema Support Australia and a number of others over the past year. It has been incredibly rewarding working with such awesome people who do amazing things but just need help to get their message out in a professional way.”