May 28, 2024
When Kingaroy Men’s Shed president Eric Ford lost his beloved wife Joan to dementia last July he had a gaping hole in his life.
“It’s a sad story, a real sad story,” Eric said.
One thing that helped the former peanut farmer push through his incredible pain was going to the Kingaroy Men’s Shed.
The now 75-year-old helped set the Shed up nine years ago.
“The Men’s Shed has been great to help me build my life back together,” Eric said.
“It’s a place for everyone to come together, catch up for a chinwag and repair broken bits of furniture for the community.”
They work with steel and wood but mostly it’s about improving mental health.
There are 30 regulars and it’s Eric’s goal to significantly boost that number so he can have a positive impact on more people.
One of the other things that the Men’s Shed has been doing to support the community is hosting an annual camp oven dinner under the stars.
They’ve run four and so far have raised $38,000 for LifeFlight Rescue’s Sunshine Coast base.
“We put on a pretty good night,” Eric said.
“I know a few people who’ve needed the LifeFlight Rescue helicopter.
“LifeFlight does an incredible job to make sure whoever needs to get to a bigger hospital quickly, has the same level of medical care as people who live closer to Brisbane.”
On Monday, Eric handed over the proceeds from the latest camp oven dinner, a cheque for $14,000, to RACQ LifeFlight Rescue’s Sunshine Coast Community Engagement Lead Cassie Grentell.
Men’s Shed volunteers and dinner sponsors gathered at the Kingaroy RSL Club for the small ceremony.
Eric said the South Burnett relies heavily on LifeFlight to transport residents to hospitals in Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast; each flight costs about $25,000.
“It’s an absolute privilege to be supported by an organisation like the Kingaroy Men’s Shed and its members,” Cassie said.
“They have joined this group, often in their own hour of need, and then turn their efforts to raise money and donate their time to LifeFlight.
“And their efforts ensure our aeromedical teams have the best equipment when they are responding to medical emergencies.
“We are grateful to all of our volunteers and fundraisers who provide incredible support.”
The Kingaroy Men’s Shed is looking for more volunteers to run the next camp oven dinner which will be held on March 8, 2025.
The men meet at their shed, near the Kingaroy Airport from 8:ooam to noon on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturday.
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LifeFlight helicopters are sadly an all-too-common sight in South Burnett skies.
The Toowoomba-based LifeFlight Surat Gas Aeromedical Service (SGAS) helicopter crew flew to Manar Park at Boondooma twice on Saturday after separate motocross crashes.
The first mission, on Saturday morning involved two riders who were injured in separate accidents.
A man aged in his 20s suffered a serious foot injury after colliding with another rider; the second patient was a teenage boy who broke his leg while crashing over a jump.
Both riders were airlifted to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.
Before they had even left the hospital, the helicopter crew were despatched back to Manar Park to help another injured rider.
Crew members treated a male teenager at the park for a head injury.
He was airlifted to LifeFlight’s Toowoomba base and then transported by road to the Toowoomba Hospital in a stable condition.
Over the recent Easter long weekend, rescue helicopters were called to Manar Park four times to help five people injured in separate incidents at the off-road recreational venue.
- Related article: Four Rescue Helicopters Called
