It was a double celebration at the 30th
Annual Queensland Tourism Awards Gala Ceremony on Friday night when
Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort won the highly contested Steve Irwin Award
for Ecotourism and Managing Director Peter Gash was awarded the Marie
Watson-Blake Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Individual.
Peter was visibly emotional when accepting the Marie Watson-Blake Award:
“If
a bloke from the bush can win something like this, it says that every
one of us can achieve what you want to achieve with your dreams. It
comes down to people, each and every one of us believing in what we want
to do and making it happen.”
Winning
the Steve Irwin Award for Ecotourism will always hold a special place
in Peter’s heart. Peter and Steve were good friends and Steve would
often take his family to Lady Elliot Island for holidays.
A message from Peter Gash:
Lady
Elliot Island Eco Resort has been a finalist in the Steve Irwin Award
for Ecotourism for the past two years. To finally be honoured with the
Gold really is a dream come true for all of us.
That
we, Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, have finally managed to achieve the
Gold in this category, bearing Steve’s name, is the realisation of a
long held dream for myself and I am personally extremely humbled by this
outcome.
Steve
was a truly remarkable Man, an Eco Warrior and Environmental Leader
with extraordinary vision and passion for both our Wildlife and our
Environment. His passion and enthusiasm were infectious. Steve brought
great change to the world’s perception of protecting and preserving the
Wildlife and the Environment. It’s unlikely we will ever see another
individual quite like the amazing man Steve was.
I
feel confident that he would be extremely proud of how Terri, Bindi,
Robert and all his beloved Australia Zoo Crew continue to carry his
legacy forward with such grace and commitment.
This
award recognises many years of work, effort, dedication and persistence
by our remarkable Team of passionate and committed people past and
present who have been involved with us over the years on this journey.
This
journey with our Lovely Lady (Lady Elliot Island) has taught me many
lessons. I have grown more aware as time passes that we are all here on
this Earth for a special purpose. We are not here to make a fortune, we
are here to make a difference.
Lady
Elliot Island Eco Resort enjoys that unique and exciting opportunity to
allow families and people to come out for a holiday to enjoy and relax
in an amazing natural environment and explore the wonders of the Great
Barrier Reef.
Yet at the same time we have the privilege of being able to teach and educate on how we can coexist on the planet in the 21st
century while minimising our footprint on this special environment to
guarantee its future sustainability for generations to come.
This
30 year Awards Anniversary remarkably coincides with our entry into
Tourism (Early Ecotourism) when my wife Julie and I commenced Bush
Safari Tours in an old Ford Army Truck throughout the Brisbane Forest
Park.
For
us it has been an amazing and challenging journey and certainly a long
way to where we now find ourselves as Custodians entrusted with the
Stewardship of one of Australia’s most Iconic National Treasures, Lady
Elliot Island on the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
Congratulations
to all the winners and the amazing tourism operators and products in
the Sunshine State! We are so proud to be part of Queensland's dynamic
tourism industry and we appreciate your help and support to showcase our
wonderful state to the world J
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Daniel Gschwind and the QTIC team and all the sponsors of the 30th Annual Queensland Tourism Awards. It was very exciting to be involved in the celebrations of 30 years of Tourism Excellence.
www.ladyelliot.com.au
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www.ladyelliot.com.au
www.facebook.com/LadyElliotIslandEcoResort
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