All articles filed in Home Grown

Written by Kerrie Alexander Mathew Eyles has lived with profound dyslexia since birth, and as a child struggled with literacy and short-term memory loss. So how did the Hervey Bay father-of-three deliver a seven-minute speech in front of a crowd of thousands at the prestigious semi-finals for the World Speaking Championships in Nashville Tennessee last…

Written by Kerrie Alexander Hervey Bay’s Jill Stephenson volunteers her time six days a week coaching both women’s and junior girls’ basketball and netball. The mum-of two, florist, and wife of a local schoolteacher, carries a suitcase full of the clothes in her car for quick and easy changes of uniform. Jill has to be…

Written by Kerrie Alexander When Marquese Denduck-Green stepped out onto the futsal court to play in a school-based national final in Brisbane recently, he never expected selectors to be in the crowd. However, after playing the game for only two years, the 16-year-old Hervey Bay athlete was only one of a handful of players chosen…

Written by Kerrie Alexander Wind back the clock about five years and Kelly Econonidis was fighting an auto immune disease, Relapsing and Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and had lesions on her brain, neck, and spine. There were days when the Maryborough resident couldn’t get out of bed, walk or talk because she was in too…

Written by Kerrie Alexander Gemma Lightbody had just turned 30 when she felt a lump in her breast that just didn’t feel right.The Hervey Bay resident and her husband Ben had already endured the loss of a child, major complications with their second pregnancy and their daughter Connie had been diagnosed with a rare heart…

Written by Kerrie Alexander When Mark Grimsley’s daughter handed him a Nikon camera for Christmas three years ago, little did she know that it would save her dad’s life. The 55-year-old Dundowran resident served in the Air force for 17 years as an Aircraft Life Support Fitter where he ensured parachutes, life rafts, helmets, oxygen…

Written by Kerrie Alexander There are moments in life that define who you are and reveal undoubtedly where you belong.For Hervey Bay’s Richard Ball, that moment came in November 2020 as a young RWBH neurosurgeon sat by his hospital bed with sad eyes. He delivered the confronting news that while the surgeons believed they had…

Written by Kerrie Alexander Sara Diana Faraj is like a whirlwind of positive vibes, determined to bring about change for the community and Fraser Coast youth. The 20-year-old is on the run, seven days a week, studying a Bachelor of Political Science online at UQ, she is a full time Electorate Officer for Adrian Tantari…

Written by Kerrie Alexander From being a chef in various Fraser Coast restaurants to becoming a famed YouTube content creator – William Jonas is living proof that big dreams can become reality. The former Aldridge High student graduated in 2011 with the idea of making a living as a chef but the ultimate goal of…