All articles filed in Home Grown

Written by Kerrie Alexander The saying one man’s loss is another man’s gain rings true for one Hervey Bay dance teacher, principal and director. Except, the gain is now taken by up to 26 teenagers who can attend the Hervey Bay Performing Arts College each year. Jonathon Heeley, 30, has lived and breathed performing arts…

Written by Kerrie Alexander There is no doubt that most mothers and daughters share a special bond that’s unconditional. The relationship is full of love, warmth, affection and care, and is unique and irreplaceable. It’s unfortunately not the case for everyone but for 20-year-old Hannah Walker and her mum Tanya, it has and always will…

Written by Kerrie Alexander Ruthy Hewson’s unexpected rise to fame The day after graduating from Maryborough High, Ruth Hewson received a call from her agency that changed her life. The model and influencers bags were packed ready to move to the city without hesitation after being given the chance to work with Brisbane-based clothing company…

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…