Leigh McCready, the woman who has steered the revival of surf lifesaving at Peregian Beach, has decided to step down from her leadership role, as the first new surf club on the Sunshine Coast for 25 years nears the date of its re-establishment.
The Peregian Beach SLSC Advisory Board, established by Surf Life Saving Queensland to oversee the governance of the new club, paid tribute to Ms McCready’s service, stating she had done an “outstanding job in getting Peregian Beach surf lifesaving to this point“.
“Leigh McCready has led the revival of surf lifesaving at Peregian Beach for the past three plus years, working with the Noosa Heads Surf Life Saving Club,“ the board said.
“During this time, the Peregian Nippers program has grown from zero to 160 participants and an additional 30 new volunteer patrolling members have joined Peregian patrols.”
Ms McCready said her growing community responsibilities, especially her election in February as Liberal National Party Noosa Branch chair and new role advocating for a Noosa domestic and family violence service made it the right time for the change.
“It’s been an incredible journey over the last three and a half years since our vision of having a sustainable surf club at Peregian again started gathering momentum.
“There’s been a huge amount of hard work to demonstrate to Surf Life Saving Queensland and Noosa Council that we have the determination, community support and local Peregian surf lifesavers to drive the growth of the new Club.”
Ms McCready is a longstanding Peregian lifesaver who believes the future viability of the Club is dependent on building a new clubhouse to improve safety, access and visibility for lifesaving operations and generate income which would underpin its long-term financial viability.
“I’m most proud of the fact that 100 per cent of our Peregian lifesavers are planning to stay on and patrol with us next season.
“Everyone knows how important it is to build our surf club back. We have created a family-focused culture – we’re all friends and we all look out for each other.
“There have been obstacles along the way, but we have been highly motivated to succeed in this journey and I’m moving on with the confidence that our Club has the best possible foundation to succeed.
Ms McCready is passing on her leadership role to former Coolum SLSC President, John Roderick.
“The Peregian Club won’t be successful without our wonderful community’s support,” she said.
“We have big dreams and would love Peregian people to join us in making them happen.
“I urge people to please join by emailing hello@peregiansurfclub.com.”
