BRISBANE RACING CLUB IN LINE FOR NOTABLE AWARD

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The Brisbane Racing Club is in line for a notable award following the announcement of the finalists for the Lord Mayor Business Awards - Corporate Citizen category.

It is a telling nomination as it sheds some light on the good work that an organization such as the BRC often does ‘behind the scenes’ without ever seeking any credit for those endeavours.

Club CEO Stephen Ferguson gives some insight into some of the activities of the BRC that have caught the eye of those charged with adjudicating this particular award.

“We at the Brisbane Racing Club are ecstatic that the club has been selected as a finalist in the Lord Mayor's Business Awards Corporate Citizen category,” said Ferguson.

“We are a big player in the community. We impact on the community.

“We are the biggest employer in our local area. We probably the biggest land holder and it is just a matter of us doing the right thing by using our assets to help smaller community based organizations.

“The BRC does a heck of a lot in the local community that generally goes unrecognized.

“The Doomben Community Sports Field is available free of charge to local groups, including Brothers Rugby. We also help maintain the Brothers Juniors football field at Crosby Park free of charge and we provide marquees and infrastructure for the annual Junior presentation day.

"We’ve constructed a shed for use by Queensland Scouts. We are progressing well with the restoration of the Hamilton Scout Hall for wider community use. We have helped landscape Our Lady Help Of Christians Primary School. We removed overgrown vegetation there and replaced it with landscaped gardens.

“We’ve installed two water tanks in Hendra State School. We assist with the maintenance of Hendra Pony Club. We provide a building at Eagle Farm for use as the local Blue Light disco. We provide a venue for music events.

“The BRC was directly involved in the 2011 Central Queensland Flood Relief Fundraiser and we were also one of six companies promoting the 2012 "City to the Bush" St George Flood Relief Fundraiser. The "City to the Bush" campaign’s aim is one of supporting a country town in need.

“There are other roles we are ready play. One that we hope never to have to use is our twenty-four hour preparedness to provide disaster accommodation, toilets, showers, kitchens and food in emergency situations.

"So we really are there for the community on a number of levels.

“All of these examples are important to us in terms of being contribute to the local community and we are pretty proud of what we do.

“The BRC also does a lot that goes unrecognized for country racing.

“We supply infrastructure to clubs such as Kilkoy, Nanango and Thangool. We know that contribution flies pretty much under the radar and that few are aware of what we do.

“You know, most people in their own life try to do good in the community and we are just trying to adopt that mantra as a big land-owner and big employer.”

The Brisbane Racing Club is one of four finalists for the award.

The winner will be announced on October 31.

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