Students organise huge event to honour rescue workers
Five University of the Sunshine Coast students have organised a huge community celebration in honour of the region’s emergency rescue workers on Sunday 1 June at Stockland Park, Kawana.
The fun-filled family extravaganza, called Operation Rescue, will run from 10am to 2pm and highlight the life-saving work of many of the region’s government-funded and not-for-profit emergency services.
It will feature interactive displays by the Queensland Police Service, Australian Volunteer Coast Guard, Queensland Ambulance Service, Energex Community Rescue Helicopter, State Emergency Service, Queensland Fire and Rescue Service and Life Saving Queensland.
There also will be demonstrations by the Energex Rescue Helicopter, children’s rides, food vendors, and a live broadcast by radio station Hot91 FM.
Hot91 celebrity Samille Muirhead is set to make a grand arrival at Stockland Park at noon after agreeing to skydive from a plane in support of the celebration.
The extravaganza has evolved from a University assignment by Public Relations students Beth Young, Jodie Llewellyn, Renee Anderson, Katie Emmert and Louise Halvorsen.
Beth said the group had spent three months organising the event and were really excited about how it had picked up momentum and support.
“I don’t think anyone expected us to go as far as we did with it,” Beth said.
“It started off as an idea for a production workshop for one of our university subjects, and now we have Stockland Park, interactive demonstrations by the emergency services and skydiving celebrities,” she said.
Beth said the group had benefited from some great advice from University of the Sunshine Coast academics, especially from their tutor Peppi Bueti.
“Planning this event right down to the last detail as part of one of our subjects is really going to give us an advantage against people from other universities when we get out into the industry,” she said.
“A lot of the work we do at USC is very practical. We have experience before we even get into the industry.”
— Claire Bruynius