The 2023 Noosa Queensland Day Awards are all about honouring inspirational locals.
As we move towards the big day, it’s time to get a sneak peek into some of the deserving nominees who will be honoured on Tuesday 6 June, Queensland Day.
PTSD Dogs Australia have nominated founder and chief executive officer, Angie Weeks for her countless hours and dedication to the charity.
PTSD Dogs Australia is a Noosa-based charity, originally located in Tewantin and now based in Black Mountain. It rescues dogs and trains them as assistance dogs for veterans and first responders who are suffering from PTSD. Each dog costs around $40,000 to train and PTSD Dogs Australia provides them free of charge to their handlers.
Angie is the founder of the organisation and not only does the day to day running of the charity but also trains the dogs, attends events and helps to support veterans and first responders in need. Her passion and commitment is an inspiration.
“Our firies, paramedics, police officers and armed forces personnel have given so much to our community. 25 per cent of our armed forces are diagnosed with PTSD and 10 per cent of our first responders, and suicide rates are one a fortnight for veterans and one month for first responders.
“They can see more tragedy in a day than most of us will see in a lifetime. We can’t leave them to battle on their own,” Angie said.
“We are a fairly young charity, just five years old this month. We have achieved so much but there is so much more I want to achieve. The majority of what we do is done by volunteers and it is very much a team effort.
“I feel honoured that my team nominated me for the Queensland Day awards.”
The Noosa Electorate Queensland Day awards are an initiative of Sandy Bolton MP sponsored by Noosa Today and Cooroy RSL.
For more information about the awards contact the Noosa electorate office on 5319 3100 or complete an online nomination at sandybolton.com/qld-day-awards. Hard cop- ies of nomination forms can also be down- loaded or are available from Sandy’s office, 28 Eenie Creek Rd, Noosaville. Nominations close Sunday 21 May.
