Some people look forward to being pampered on their birthday but not Lyn Howard, of Lyn’s Place, she is throwing open her doors and throwing a Ladies High Tea party to raise money for Bloomhill.

“I just want to do something worthwhile for a great local Sunshine Coast charity,” Lyn said.

The High Tea Ladies Luncheon will be held on 27^th May at Lyn’s Place, Minyama, from 12noon until 2.30pm.

Bloomhill is very grateful for Lyn’s ongoing support which helps enable the charity to help people with cancer and their loved ones throughout the Sunshine Coast to live well with cancer.

“Like many others, I have been personally affected by cancer,” Lyn said.

“At the time there wasn’t any kind of organisation like Bloomhill around which is why I feel that it is so important to support such a unique and special charity.”

Bloomhill Cancer Help is based in Buderim and provides support and assistance to those affected by cancer. Operated by a team of dedicated staff and hundreds of volunteers, Bloomhill offers counselling, transport to appointments, respite care and a range of complimentary therapies and other services.

Bloomhill president Jenny Carroll said Bloomhill relied on the money raised through fundraising activities, OP shops, donations and grants to continue their high level of care and valuable services.

“The services we provide at Bloomhill are only made possible because of the generous support we receive from local businesses and people like Lyn.” Jenny said.

Lyn said she didn’t like being made a fuss of so celebrating her birthday by putting on a fundraiser for Bloomhill was perfect for her.

“I am thrilled that I am able to give something back to an organisation that constantly gives to others,” said Lyn.

The Ladies High Tea will be held from 12noon to 2.30pm at Lyn’s Place, 66 Jessica Boulevard. The lunch will include tea and coffee along with gourmet sandwiches, scones, a selection of cakes and sweets, quiches and croissants and plenty of lucky door prizes to giveaway for $40 per person, with profits going directly to Bloomhill.

Each table seats 8 people and places are limited. If you interested in eating good food with good company and supporting a worthwhile charity, please book your ticket by calling 5477 5420 or email lynhoward@bigpond.com.

She’s a miracle really – often she cooks, cleans, is the family chauffeur, counsellor, tutor and nurse not to mention any work she does outside the home, so this Mother’s Day why not pay tribute to your Mum in a healthy way.

According to best-selling low-fat cookbook author Annette Sym, looking after your Mum is something we should do more than one day a year.

“We should be doing things to make our Mum’s feel vibrant, fantastic and full of the energy they need to be so amazing and whether it’s once a year or more often, we should be encouraging Mums to look after themselves!,” the low-fat cooking queen said.

So as a Mum of three and grandmother of one, Annette has put her experience to the test and come up with a list of her top five ways to make Mum feel special:

1. Give her breakfast in bed
2. Ban her from the kitchen for 24 hours
3. Give her a card or a present that you have made or created
4. Write her a poem or letter on why you love her so much
5. Vouchers for spoiling mum such as facial, massage, pedicure.

“In today’s world many mothers are guilty of neglecting their health in the busy day-to-day struggle to get everything done. Food can uplift us and give us the energy to maintain our strength throughout the day but it needs to be healthy food so the effect is long-lasting,” she said.

Annette said that maintaining a balance in the food we eat was essential. The Symply Too Good To be True cookbooks provide the answers to weight loss, with recipes that help everyone to adopt a healthy lifestyle that they can maintain easily and have sold more than 3 million copies.

And for the fans who have been screaming out for more, this winter Annette will be launching Symply Too Good To Be True Book 6, which is “two books in one” with over 100 ways to all new tasty, healthy, low-fat cooking as well as the 28 Day Weightloss Masterclass, with a bonus audio/video CD including motivational messages, weightloss diary charts and a Shopping List.

“Cooking the Symply Too Good To Be True way means you don’t have to miss out on your traditional favourites. My new cookbook has many delicious treats that means you can indulge yourself with a guilt-free conscience,” Annette said.

All Annette’s cookbooks SYMPLY TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (when it is released) are full of recipes that use ingredients that help to reduce anxiety, stress and low-energy. Foods such as fish, wholegrain rice, pasta and cereal rich in fibre, oranges, green tea, almonds and a variety of fruit and vegetables help to maintain energy and stress levels.

“These are foods that are perfect for busy Mums or anyone else who has to stay on top of their game,” Annette said.

“However when people are stressed these are unfortunately not the foods we usually reach for – instead it is the foods that contain high amounts of sugar and saturated fats; such as caffeine and processed food that give a sense of contentment initially, but after a few hours leave us feeling tired, stressed and irritable,” she said.

“So this Mother’s Day give something to your Mum that will benefit her health and boost her confidence. Take the time and demonstrate to her that you care, by making a nutritious meal that tastes great.”

All Annette’s cookbooks SYMPLY TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, her CD-ROM MENU PLANNER and GET MOTIVATED & LOSE WEIGHT DOUBLE AUDIO CD are sold in all good newsagencies or visit Annette’s website www.symplytoogood.com.au.

The newly appointed Board of Directors for the Innovation Centre is focused on creating new jobs by expanding the Sunshine Coast’s knowledge-based economy and supporting the growth of the Business and Technology Precinct that is developing in Sippy Downs.

Innovation Centre Chief Executive Colin Graham said he welcomed the new five-member board, all of whom had strong specialised skills that would benefit the Centre and the Sunshine Coast business community.

“The Sunshine Coast has traditionally been very reliant on tourism but for the region to become truly sustainable we must build a much more diverse economy – an economy more able to cope with an economic downturn or even just bad weather.

The newly appointed Innovation Centre board sees strong opportunities to create new jobs in new industries, using the rapidly growing University as a distinctive asset for business attraction and growth.” Mr Graham said.

“This is something the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Innovation Centre has been working towards since it was established in 2002 and we have achieved a great deal including supporting the start-up and growth of over 55 businesses and creating around 350 jobs.

“Now we are moving into a new stage of development, steadily expanding the services we offer – beyond the 30 plus businesses located within the Innovation Centre – and running business events to build a productive entrepreneurial network across the Sunshine Coast region.

“Our biggest priority is to continue to advance the development of the Business and Technology Precinct at Sippy Downs, working closely with the University, Sunshine Coast Regional Council, the private sector and others.

“The last two years have seen over $100 million investment in underpinning infrastructure so our key objective is to support the establishment of a business community that employs more than 6000 knowledge-based workers and for Sippy Downs to become Australia’s first true university town,” Mr Graham said.

He said with such a major task ahead, the Innovation Centre had carefully selected the new board, with each member offering specific skills to advance the Centre’s mission.

The new members of the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Innovation Centre Board include two senior representatives of the University and three from the Sunshine Coast business community.  The members are: University Vice Chancellor and President Professor Paul Thomas AM, who maintains his position as Chairman; University Pro Vice Chancellor for Regional Engagement, Professor Mike Hefferan, who has been appointed as a new director and Deputy Chairman; Dr Karen Woolley, CEO of Proscribe who has been reappointed for a new term; Westpac Regional General Manager Mike Schwartz and entrepreneur and angel investor John Nicholson.

Professor Paul Thomas AM has overseen the development of  the Innovation Centre since its inception working with CEO Colin Graham and the team to ensure its success.

Professor Mike Hefferan brings a strong background in property and business precinct development and while working for the Queensland Government was responsible for much of the ‘Smart State’ initiative which included the establishment of the Australian Institute for Commercialisation – where he was the interim CEO – the establishment of Aviation Australia and the i.lab Incubator at Toowong.

Dr Karen Woolley who continues to be a strong advocate for the Innovation Centre and business development on the Sunshine Coast, has more than twenty years experience in clinical research and medical writing and is the CEO of Proscribe, an international medical communication company based in Noosa. Karen is a former Sunshine Coast Business Woman of the Year and Queensland Business Owner of the Year.

John Nicholson, also based in Noosa, originates from Western Australia and has strong background in accounting – cofounding a Perth based practice that grew to 50 staff within 3 years. In more recent years, John has been an angel investor and helped to grow an online fitness education business with over 60,000 subscribers, which sold to a major player in the UK in 2007.

Michael Schwartz has extensive global experience in banking, finance, IT and communications, has valuable direct experience with IT start-up companies and is passionate about the Innovation Centre and its drive to create new jobs on the Sunshine Coast. Mike was also previously a General Manager at Telstra, VP at Goldman Sachs and a Management Consultant with the Boston Consulting Group.

About the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast:

Established in 2002, the Innovation Centre, a University of the Sunshine Coast company, aims to create new jobs in new industries for the Sunshine Coast region.

Located on the edge of the USC campus, the Innovation Centre is currently home to over 30 private companies in the clean-technology, digital and creative industries and offers world-class business support for entrepreneurs and growing companies.  To date, the Innovation Centre has supported the start-up and growth of over 55 businesses, creating around 350 jobs.

The Innovation Centre facility includes a Business Incubator and Business Accelerator which provide serviced offices, high speed fibre connections, consulting support, investment readiness and networking for both start-up and growth businesses.

The Innovation Centre is at the hub of the Business and Technology Precinct taking shape around the University of the Sunshine Coast. Over $100m has been invested in infrastructure in the last two years – including roads, a bus station and dark fibre optic cabling – to help advance the Precinct which has the potential to provide skilled jobs for over 6,000 people in the next 10 – 15 years.

The Innovation Centre also runs an extensive program of business events – attracting over 4,000 people to date – designed to help local entrepreneurs to connect with each other and the University and build a productive network.

For more information visit www.innovation-centre.com.au

“The Triumphant Child: Caring for your new born: How to enjoy the first 60 days as a new mom”, the latest book by Sunshine Coast-based parenting company, Sixty Second Parent, has only just been launched but already it has won the prestigious Disney iParenting Media Award for ‘Outstanding Product’ in the US.

The second book in the Triumphant Child™ Series, launched just a year ago, offers expert medical advice and practical parenting solutions for new mums in that critical first 60 days, and was written due to popular demand after the first book, “The Triumphant Child: A Practical guide to raising two, three and four year olds”, was launched.

Sixty Second Parent CEO Steve Huff said the books followed on from the development of the company’s informative and interactive parenting website – www.sixtysecondparent.com.

He said operating out of the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Innovation Centre, Sixty Second Parent had thrived in it’s first 18 months of operation.

“The initial idea came about when experts Dr Olson Huff and his daughter in law, Nicole Rawson-Huff created a series of radio messages called the One Minute Parent in 1997. They were a hit and so we decided to take the business to a new level,” he said.

“Its fantastic that the books and the website have been so well received and we are very excited about be acknowledged by Disney iParenting.”

After years of content creation and researching the target sector, the business then launched in 2008 the website and is now continuing with the development of the series of practical parenting books.
Steve said choosing to primarily target the U.S market – where Dr Huff is a leading paediatrician – we believe we are able to communicate with a larger segment of their target customers.

“Running the business from the Innovation Centre is perfect,” Steve said.

“We have everything we need to run our business in the U.S. from right here on the Sunshine Coast with the benefits of a fantastic lifestyle, that’s the beauty of technology.”

The new book, Caring for your newborn: How to enjoy the first 60 days as a new mom, Dr. Olson Huff and Nicole Rawson-Huff, Eds.; Soft cover; Nonfiction; $19.95 U.S. ISBN: 978-0-9822841-2-4 is available to purchase, with Australian shipping options at the book series’ new website www.thetriumphantchild.com.

What people say about the books:
“Everything you need to give your baby the best start in life…an essential for all new moms.”
David T. Tayloe, Jr., MD, FAAP
President, American Academy of Pediatrics

The University of the Sunshine Coast’s Innovation Centre runs a Business Incubator and Business Accelerator to aid the start-up and growth of knowledge based businesses on the Sunshine Coast, through providing high-tech office space, mentoring, networking opportunities and business development support.

The talented fabric artists at the Buderim Craft Cottage will this winter be presenting their 4^th Biennial Exhibition of wearable art ‘Visions IV’.

This year’s Visions IV exhibition and sale by the Craft Cottage’s Fabric Art and Surface Design Group in July is set to be the most spectacular yet with internationally experienced artists all working to present garments created especially for the event.

Fabric Art and Surface Design Group president Lyn Gooch said the group has 20 members, all practicing textile artists working in many different mediums, silk, wool and cotton.

“Our members produce exquisite art to wear, textile pictures and wall hangings.  These works use many techniques, hand dyeing fabrics, machine and hand embellishment, Nuno felting, Shibori- traditional and modern,” Lyn said.

“A wearable art garment may take weeks to complete.  A work will begin with an idea, a unique design,” she said.

“Just imagine starting with that idea, having to start with a white piece of silk or other fabric, then having to hand dye and sometime machine embellish it before drafting your own pattern and hand making it to complete your ideas.

“You may then realize why members of the group become obsessed with their work.”

Everyone is welcome to come along and see this year’s unique designs with the exhibition to be held in Buderim Craft Cottage Atrium Gallery with the invitation-only official opening on Friday 16^th July at 7pm. The exhibition will then be open to the public on Saturday 17^th from 9am – 4pm, Sunday 18^th from 9am – 3pm, with the gallery display open all week and the following weekend, Saturday 24^th from 9am – 4pm and Sunday 25^th 9am – 12noon.   The Buderim Craft Cottage is at 5 Main Street, Buderim, behind War Memorial Hall on corner Church and Main Streets.  Entry is by gold coin donation. Enquiries Lyn (07) 5445 6113 Jill (07) 5477 6029.

Lyn said this year’s Visions IV exhibition would feature the group’s challenge display of ‘Wearable Art with a futuristic theme’.  There will also be a display of work from the Maroochydore High School year 10 Textile Students.

The Sunshine Coast Literary Association is encouraging entries into the WARM 2010 Writers competition, which closes at the end of April.

The competition is open to aspiring writers in the Sunshine Coast and Gympie area, with four entry categories including junior, young adult, open poem and open short story.

SCLA president Hari Kotrotsios said the Sunshine Coast Literary Association was a not-for-profit association dedicated to nurturing, showcasing and celebrating literary talent throughout the Sunshine Coast region, with the annual awards being a key part of that charter.

“This year the SCLA is celebrating the third anniversary of the competition, with the winners to be showcased at a special Awards Dinner on 17 June at Cartwrights Restaurant, at the TAFE Campus, at Mountain Creek,” Ms Kotrotsios said.

“Already we have received some great entries, so we are encouraging everyone to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and get their entries lodged by the 30 April deadline.

“Entrants will then be in the running for the cash prizes available for each category – $200 for first place and $50 for second, as well as a Readers Choice award in each category to be decided by a panel of SCLA members.

Ms Kotrotsios said the competition was designed to be a platform to showcase the depth of talent of writers throughout the region.

“It is said that everyone has a book in them, though most never even get started but here on the Coast there are many writers, published and yet-to-be-published already hard at work on their manuscripts.”

“Last years competition featured some exceptional works so we are eagerly awaiting this year’s entries.”

The cost of entering is $5 per entry with a maximum of three entries per candidate.  Entries close on Friday, 30^th of April 2010. Entry details and forms are available online at the SCLA website – www.scliterary.org , or by emailing info@scliterary.org.

A new venture capital fund, OneVentures launches today offering companies in the clean technology, life sciences and New Media / IT&T (Information Technology and Telecommunications) sectors access to $40 million in funding.

Backed by $20 million raised from BBY Limited (as lead investor and underwriter), high net worth investors and family offices, and $20 million from the Australian Government’s Innovation Investment Fund program (IIF), OneVentures is managed by a team of former successful entrepreneurs and business builders.

The fund investors backing the OneVentures team believe the team’s experience gained over the years is key to realising a premium return for the fund.

“At the end of the day successful entrepreneurs make great business mentors. We can identify business opportunities, visualize the growth path of a business, understand how to commercialise technology, build asset value, manage market conditions, migrate the obstacle path and balance risk and reward to deliver a successful result,” said OneVentures Managing Partner Dr Michelle Deaker.

A first for the Australian market, two out of three of the Founding General Partners are women. A 2004 US study[1] found that women represent less than 10 percent of high-level venture capitalists, yet women led 28 percent of all U.S. businesses in 2002. In 2010 the statistics are similar in Australia – the launch of OneVentures makes a significant impact in terms of diversifying Australia’s venture capital landscape.

OneVentures is looking for companies it can own a share of, help build, add value to and springboard into larger global markets through its strong offshore networks.

“We see some strong growth potential for the Fund in areas around efficient use of energy, emission control, clean water technologies and low cost efficient health care”, said Dr Michelle Deaker.

Dr Deaker added that Companies who approach the Fund should have significant competitive advantage, an active R&D program, have global application, understand their market well and for the market to be of a size where the Fund’s capital can be applied to grow a strong, sustainable and highly viable business.

Prospective investee companies should be doing less than $5 million in revenue (as at 30 June 2009) and ideally would be in the commercialisation phase, which is the point where the OneVentures team believes it can add most value.

A key private limited partner for the Fund is BBY, an Australian focused stock broking, corporate advisory and asset management company. BBY acted as underwriters for the Fund and will support the Fund moving forward with critical market analysis, and market entry and exit information.  BBY’s Managing Director, Glenn Rosewall, said “the Fund provides a unique opportunity for investors to place their capital efficiently in key technology sectors in a ‘vintage’ year when very little new funding will be available in the market.  The leverage of the government capital and ESVCLP tax exemption status of the Fund was an attractive advantage for private sector investors. We are very proud and excited to be a part of this Fund, together with the other high calibre investors, Michelle and her team.”

The global recession has significantly reduced the availability of capital for young high-tech companies and this is not likely to correct itself in the short to midterm. 2010 is mooted to herald the commencement of the recovery phase in global markets. This means that OneVentures with its available capital is ideally positioned to secure investments in highly prospective companies and grow them with the market recovery.

About OneVentures (www.one-ventures.com)

OneVentures was established in 2006 as a venture capital firm managed by partners with strong operational experience and track records in founding, building, managing, investing and exiting technology based companies. The firm has offices in Sydney and Brisbane, Australia and Boston, USA. The firm specialises in the provision of funding for Clean Technologies, Life Sciences and companies in the IT&T / New Media sector.

About the Fund

The OneVentures Innovation Fund has a 10-year life and is seeking to realise its investments from year 4 onwards. The fund is backed by $20 million from wholesale investors and $20 million from the Australian Government’s Innovation Investment Fund (IIF) program. The private sector funding was underwritten by BBY Limited.

About the Fund Manager

The Fund is managed by three partners:

Dr Michelle Deaker: Michelle started her career working for and with CSIRO and Australian Universities developing a strong pedigree in the clean technology sector.  Michelle then founded two IT companies, the second company, E Com Industries, survived the Tech crash in 2000, and went on to become the leading Australian gift card and store value provider which was acquired in December 2005 by UK Retail Decisions for over $30million cash delivering an excellent return for investors  She has subsequently mentored, invested in, raised capital for and provided investment management services for a number of young companies including AdGent 007 (San Francisco), BuzzNumbers (Sydney), Datacastle (Seattle) and Mi-Pay (London).

Dr Paul Kelly: Paul left a successful career in medicine at Sydney’s Garvan Institute to co-found Gemini Genomics in 1997. Gemini Genomics (Nasdaq: GMNI) is still regarded today as the largest biotech listing on Nasdaq.  Paul lead the company as CEO through to its successful listing and subsequent merger with Sequenom (Nasdaq: SQNM) at which point the company was valued at more than US$250 million.  Paul then co-founded a number of companies including Agamatrix, a medical devices company (Boston) and Mears Technologies, a smart silicon company (Boston), before returning as a Nasdaq CEO to turnaround Orchid Cellmark (Nasdaq: ORCH) which he took from a market cap of US$30million to over US$300million in 18months.  He was most recently CEO of Medcentre Holdings Inc, a Latin American pharmaceutical marketing company.

Anne-Marie Birkill: Anne-Marie is regarded as one of Australia’s leading commercialisation managers.  She has worked with hundreds of early-stage technology companies as senior executive, mentor and business coach. Following an early career developing and commercialising ornamental, aquatic and forestry plants she spent five years in various executive roles at UniQuest, The University of Queensland’s award winning commercialisation company. Since 2005 Anne-Marie has been CEO of i.lab Incubator: 2006 Australian Incubator of the Year and launch pad for many successful Queensland technology companies and launch pad for many successful Queensland technology companies including Liquid Animation, Mooter Media (ASX: MMZ), Codesion (formerly CVSDude), Ephox, RedFlow Energy and Charm Health.

About BBY (www.bby.com.au)

BBY is an Australian focused stock broking, corporate advisory and asset management firm with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, UK and UAE along with a global presence in the USA and Asia. BBY combines the strength of an international partnership with leading Asian investment bank CIMB-GK and an equity partnership with major US investment bank, Jefferies Inc.

Contact: Mr Glenn Rosewall, Managing Director & CEO, BBY Limited, +61-2-9226-0032

About the Innovation Investment Fund program

The IIF Program is an Australian Government funded venture capital program that assists with the development of new innovation funds and fund managers with expertise in early stage venture capital investing. It invests in private sector venture capital funds to assist small companies in the early stages of development to commercialise the outcomes of Australia’s strong research and development capability.

Further information on the Innovation Investment Fund can be found at www.ausindustry.gov.au or by calling the AusIndustry hotline 13 28 46.

The world’s 5^th largest accounting network, BDO, is the latest specialist services provider to identify the growth in the knowledge-based economy on the Sunshine Coast by setting up visiting offices at the dynamic Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast.

BDO Australia has taken up a visiting office at the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Innovation Centre, so it can form closer relationships with its existing Sunshine Coast clients.

Innovation Centre Chief Executive Colin Graham said the Innovation Centre was pleased to be welcoming BDO Australia as one of four high-calibre professional service firms now using the visiting office facilities.

“With the Innovation Centre perfectly positioned at the hub of what will be the Sunshine Coast’s newest Business and Technology Precinct, it offers professional service companies a unique opportunity,” Mr Graham said.

Mr Graham said with more than $100m being invested in the area’s infrastructure, together with the Business and Technology Precinct, the area would become the knowledge-based industry centre for the Sunshine Coast.

“It is for this reason, especially with the local economy starting to bounce back from the financial downturn, that we are experiencing very strong interest from businesses keen to position themselves here,” Colin said.

BDO Australia, an established Queensland firm since 1913, has a strong presence in South East Queensland, and is one of the state’s largest and most experienced accounting and business advisory firms.  BDO provides both traditional and contemporary business advisory and consulting services across a broad range of industry sectors, including Government.  Specifically, the firm’s services include Audit, Business Recovery & Insolvency, Tax, Corporate Finance, Forensic Services, Performance Improvement Consulting and Risk Advisory.

BDO partner Bernard Curran said the Innovation Centre’s visiting offices offered the firm a great opportunity to increase their presence on the Sunshine Coast, which was one of Queensland’s leading areas of major growth.

“The visiting offices at the Innovation Centre will allow us to be more responsive to our existing Sunshine Coast clients while also being a part of the growing cluster of innovative and dynamic companies locating themselves in the precinct,” Mr Curran said.

Mr Graham said the other professional service firms also using the visiting offices at the Innovation Centre offer specialist services in key areas such as intellectual property and patents, commercial legal services and Research and Development incentives.

“BDO Australia already have very strong business relationships here on the Sunshine Coast so they are a welcome addition to the Innovation Centre and another asset to boost business on the Coast,” he said.

For more information about the Innovation Centre and the businesses located there, visit www.innovation-centre.com.au.

Additional background information:

About the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast:

Established in 2002, the Innovation Centre, a University of the Sunshine Coast company, aims to create new jobs in new industries for the Sunshine Coast region.

Located on the edge of the USC campus, the Innovation Centre is currently home to over 30 private companies in the clean-technology, digital and creative industries and offers world-class business support for entrepreneurs and growing companies.  To date, the Innovation Centre has supported the start-up and growth of over 55 businesses, creating around 350 jobs.

The Innovation Centre facility includes a Business Incubator and Business Accelerator which provide serviced offices, high speed fibre connections, consulting support, investment readiness and networking for both start-up and growth businesses.

The Innovation Centre is at the hub of the Business and Technology Precinct taking shape around the University of the Sunshine Coast. Over $100m has been invested in infrastructure in the last two years – including roads, a bus station and dark fibre optic cabling – to help advance the Precinct which has the potential to provide high level skilled jobs for over 6,000 people in the next 10 – 15 years.

The Innovation Centre also runs an extensive program of business events designed to help local entrepreneurs to connect with each other and the University and build a productive network. Over 4,000 people have attended these events and represent dynamic and valuable network.

For more information visit www.innovation-centre.com.au.

About BDO:

BDO is the world’s 5th largest accounting and advisory network whose strong client relationships have helped deliver proven results for clients.

BDO is one of Queensland’s largest and most experienced accounting and business advisory firms, providing both traditional and contemporary business advisory and consulting services across a broad range of industry sectors, including Government.  Specifically, our services include Audit, Business Recovery & Insolvency, Tax, Corporate Finance, Forensic Services, Performance Improvement Consulting and Risk Advisory.

A long-standing Queensland firm, BDO can trace its continuous history here back to 1913.  What sets us apart from our competitors is the way we see, listen and think about our clients. It’s this dedication and commitment to our clients that helps us deliver distinctively different relationships and results.  For more information visit www.bdo.com.au.

All over Australia this Easter, families will hitch up their trailers, check the oil and tyres and head off for quality bonding time away from the daily grind. Unfortunately, it is also one of the busiest times on the road. Campsites often burst at the seams and spontaneous adventures are becoming a thing of the past. Right now is the time to think ahead and plan your escape.

Written by Sunshine Coast mum, Sarah Pye, Kids Welcome to Queensland, is the perfect resource and it can save hours on the Internet. Without annoying advertising, this guidebook reviews over 500 kid-friendly things to do in Queensland. Most were visited personally by Sarah, and her chief expert 10-year-old daughter Amber, and many are cost free. A handy traffic light rating system indicates suitability in three different age groups: preschool, primary and teen.

Terri Sanderson used the family-friendly guidebook over the Christmas holidays. “It really made life easier,” she said, “and the colourful pictures and easy-to-read style makes it possible for the whole family to help plan their holiday”.

Kids Welcome to Queensland has been enjoying unparalleled success since its launch last October. Over the Christmas period, Sarah said the first 1000 copies flew off the shelf. “I have been amazed at the positive feedback at book signings,” she said, “it just goes to prove parents want to know more about places to explore with their kids”.

Why not download a backseat treasure hunt to keep the kids amused on your journey? Sarah has developed seven wonderful quizzes for different Queensland regions. All are free and, for a limited time, kids can send back their answers for a free prize pack! Visit: www.kidswelcome.com.au for more details.

Kids Welcome to Queensland is endorsed by Tourism Queensland and Playgroup Queensland. Its handy A5 size fits in your glove box and it comes complete with Hema maps covering the entire state. Kids Welcome to Queensland is available through bookshops, your local library or www.kidswelcome.com.au. RRP 29.95.

A fine lineup of big-hearted Brisbane bands will be gracing the stage at the Sunshine Coast’s newest live music venue, Club Envy on Sunday March 28 for Big Haiti Hug, a fundraising concert in honour of the people of earthquake devastated Haiti.

Garage country rocksters Mexico City, avant-garde folk ‘n’ rollers Golden Virtues, reggae groove merchants The Rooftops, and alternative rock trio Dear April will be coming together for an all-in musical embrace.

There’s plenty of love for everyone: Caribbean cocktails served by
gorgeous models, giveaways galore including double passes to four big festivals, Tsunami Mag showbags and a lucky door prize that will knock your socks off.

Dear April will get the party started with their progressive and unique rock tapestry, followed by Golden Virtues electro-acoustic folk rock. Mexico City will deliver their roaring epic garage rock tunes right before The Rooftops bring the night to a climatic end, stepping up the beats with their deep rooted grooves and soul searching vibes.

Big Haiti Hug organiser and Sunshine Coast local Jonas Ramone recently returned to his native soil of Haiti to see fi rsthand the devastation that continues to affect the country. “Aid is bottle necked and is just not getting through to those that need it most. Recovery and reconstruction is far from over,” Jonas said.

The early evening affair will kick off at 7pm and organisers urge Sunshine Coast music lovers to step out and show some love for the people of Haiti, to let them know the Sunshine Coast has not forgotten.

Tickets are $15 and available at the door. Club Envy is situated at 19 Ocean St, Maroochydore.