Board of Directors
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Tom French - Chairman Tom is Sunshine Coast born to farming parents, their parents having settled around Nambour in the early 1920s growing fruit and sugar. Tom is ex DPI (Soil Conservation and Development Planning), has served major mining companies in the environmental field, is currently an industrial relations professional, and in partnership with wife Pru grows avocados and limes at Palmwoods. Export development is a key focus of Toms and he has been and continues to be deeply involved in the shipping of avocados to both Europe (when commercially viable) and South East Asia. |
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Raylene Beer Raylene grew up on a mixed farm in the South Burnett. In the late 1970s her husband Rob’s employer commenced planting one of the first avocado orchards in the Childers district. Raylene’s involvement included picking, packing, tree propagation and office work. In 1991 she commenced employment in administration at the local high school. At the same time Raylene and Rob purchased 26 acres of prime red volcanic soil and commenced building their own avocado orchard. During 16 years with Education Queensland Raylene completed a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) which complemented managing the finances of the school as well as their growing farming operation. In 2007 Raylene resigned to concentrate on working with Rob on their orchard. They currently have 2300 avocado trees on 38 acres as well as using their small packhouse to pack fruit for two other growers.
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Terry Little - Secretary |
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Donna Duncan Donna Duncan OAM - My husband’s (Tom) family company first planted avocaodes on the dairy farm that we worked at Upper Mudgeeraba in the mid ’70’s and in 1979 planted another small orchard at Nathan Valley at Nerang. The company purchased the property ‘Avocado Acres’, which was one of the first commercial avocado orchards to be planted in the Childers area after cane was taken off the red hills in the mid to late 1960’s- in the early 1980’s we moved to Childers with our small children. Over the years, we have also planted mango, custrad apple and lychee orchards. We were part of the ‘birth’ of ‘Avoman’ and founding members of ACAGA (Custard Apple Growers’). We have worked our property together with Tom doing the picking and maintainence of the orchard, I ran the shed- did 99% of the packing and shed management and managed staffing requirements and marketed the crops until we joined Sunfresh. We currently grow mostly avocado on the property ‘Avocado Acres’ which we now own, and fat cattle both on the Childers property and a property we purchased in Goodnight Scrub to raise beef cattle. We recently planted a small trial commercial Paw Paw block at ‘Avocado Acres’. We have been heavily involved in many aspects of Rural life- particularly in the Wide Bay. Founding member and currently Chair of the Wide Bay Disaster Relief group which delivered assistance to many farming families in drought in the Burnett and into the central West of Queensland- and train loads of hay into the North West of Queensland; Founding member and current secretary of the Childers and District Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association, past Treasurer of Meals on Wheels (Childers), Treasurer Isis Show Society, Foster Carer for Department of Families for 30 years (now retired), fostering over 60 young people in need and numerous other community organisations. ABC radio Rural Woman of the Year (Wide Bay) 1994; Qld Runner up ABC Radio Rural woman of the year 1995; Isis Shire Citizen of the year 2001 and was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2005- for services to the community of Childers particularly in times of disaster; for services to children in need of support- (for foster care) and for work with Workplace Health and Safety Rural, (working with Professor Brownlea at Griffith University). |
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Anthony Carusi |
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Robert Price Rob started out as a Wool/Sheep and Cattle grazier in the sixties on a family property in South Western Victoria were quality stock produced market leading produce. Our investments expanded to include motels in Warrnambool and Ballarat, Vic. Later my wife Cecily and I changed career direction and we became Information Technology professionals which took us from Victoria to Cairns, back to Melbourne. I managed IT departments in business and Local Governments which led me to Hervey Bay, Qld. During this time I gained a post Graduate Degree in Management and Information Technology. On leaving Hervey Bay we purchased a property in Imbil which we have developed a horticultural business growing Avocados and Finger Limes. Always looking for a challenge our project in Imbil is still continuing and we expect to start a trial of Passionfruit shortly. |