ERIN FLEMMING

With an adventurous spirit and a creative mind, Erin recently embarked on a new business idea that led her to relocate to the Whitsundays 12 months ago.

For years she had been dreaming about uniting her two passions –travel and hair-dressing – and when her sister decided to have a destination wedding in Airlie Beach it got her thinking.

“I realised how I’m going to do it!” she said.

“Travel to beautiful places and do hair for destination weddings - now here I am, in a beautiful spot, doing exactly that.”

Originally from Toowoomba, Erin

DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY IN THREE WORDS: HAPPY, DETERMINED, AND FRIENDLY isations and in 2014 she took a leap of faith, opening the doors to her own hearing business in Brisbane.

It was almost five years ago that Sarah made the move to the Whitsundays with her family when she bought Whitsunday Hearing.

In July 2021 she opened a new purpose-built clinic at the 121 Business Centre in Cannonvale.

Sarah has one adult child and two grandchildren, plus twin teenage boys with her husband Stephen. She also has a five-year-old Labradoodle named Blaze.

In her spare time, she loves the outdoors, especially running or walking.

DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY IN THREE WORDS: BRIGHT, BUBBLY AND ADVENTUROUS has experienced a range of diverse jobs, from the gym to medical receptionist to working in a bar in Canada.

With a passion for connecting with people and a strong creative flair, however, she was soon drawn to the hair industry and was quick to flourish and progress.

Winning multiple awards in various competitions, Erin earnt a spot at the National Workskills Competition, placing 8th in Australia.

After this, she managed a salon for a short time and then opened a small boutique salon in Toowoomba which she ran for three years.

“It was this experience that gave me the confidence to push myself further that has ultimately led me to where I am today,” she explains.

“I can now say that I have successfully made it through my first wedding season and am looking forward to what the future holds for me.”

Erin enjoys travelling and spent several months living in Canada and taking adventures all over America, Mexico and Cuba.

Back in Australia, she loves the outdoors, mountain bike riding and going to parkrun on Saturdays. She also enjoys having coffee with friends, exploring new places and being creative.

Tegan Faust

With a mission to give all women the opportunity to exercise in a safe and supportive environment, Tegan opened the doors to Women’s Well Co. almost two years ago and in a short time the business has grown to employ six instructors.

The studio, located in Proserpine, offers a range of fitness activities such as Pilates, Barre, Yoga and Boxing and is a family-friendly facility where children of all ages are welcome.

“What makes us stand out is our sense of supportive community and that we are women empowering other women of all ages to be the best version of themselves,” said

With two young boys in high school, the family’s weekends are often full of children’s sport and trips to Mackay.

In her own time, Sarah likes to pick up a good book to read.

Some of her greatest achievements in life include being the first paid employee for parkrun in Australia, the birth of her three children and of course meeting her husband and moving to sunny Queensland.

“Certainly, my biggest personal challenge is running my hearing business and the family at the same time, as well as looking after myself. It’s challenging but rewarding!” she said.

Tegan.

“Our youngest member is six years old and our most experienced is 87 years old!”

Originally from a small country town called Condamine in Southwest Queensland, Tegan brought “another Faust back to Proserpine” when she married a local and they decided to settle in the Whitsundays three and a half years ago.

The couple now have three daughters and they live on a little property with cattle, horses, chooks, dogs and a cat.

Tegan has been in the fitness industry for 20 years and studied a Bache-

DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY IN THREE WORDS: DRIVEN, CARING AND DAGGY lor of Sport and Exercise Science. She also has a Diploma in Remedial Massage Therapy and an array of Fitness, Pilates and Barre courses.

Before becoming a mother, she competed as a Professional Figure competitor and won several state and national titles including The Natural Olympia in the USA and a particular highlight was winning the World Title in Greece.

“I have trained my body to extreme levels, but nothing has challenged me more than juggling three daughters with big personalities, a business and a husband who works away!”

Jess Hope

OWNER OF PROTECT AND SANITISE

Bringing a shine to any grime, Jess discovered an unexpected passion for cleaning when she and her husband, Mike, bought Protect and Sanitise nine years ago.

From carpet and upholstery to tile, grout and air conditioner cleaning, their business offers a multitude of services to households and businesses in Airlie Beach, Proserpine Bowen and Hamilton Island.

Jess has a Diploma in Tourism and Business and spent many years working in the sector, but a growing demand within their own business saw her slowly transition over.

Two years ago, she committed fulltime and loves being the friendly person who answers the phones and

Watson

The great challenge of Sarah Watson’s life has been building her business from the ground up – but it has also been one of its greatest rewards.

The co-owner of Lightning Comms Whitsundays endeavoured on a varied career path before settling down and starting her own business in the region. She took what was at the time a road less travelled for women, completing her Automotive Engineering certifications in her homeland of New Zealand.

“When I left school, I successfully finished my studies and work experience intending on a career as a mechanic,” Sarah said.

DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY IN THREE WORDS: POSITIVE, HARD-WORKING AND CARING responds to the emails at Protect and Sanitise.

Three days a week, she also takes a van out herself to help the team cleaning carpets and couches. Always a hands-on business owner, Jess gets immense satisfaction out of her work and loves the rewarding results of cleaning, aiming always to exceed customer expectations.

With an Australian mother and a New Zealander father, Jess spent her childhood living across both countries.

She was born in New Zealand and went to primary school in Charters Towers before moving back to New Zealand for high school, where she

DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY IN THREE WORDS: FOCUSED, LOYAL, COMPASSIONATE

“It was difficult to obtain an apprenticeship in what was a male-dominated industry -- that was a real character-building experience. It was then I decided to move away from it.”

She met her husband in Australia, and Sarah soon went into hospitality, spending two years in the industry in the United Kingdom running a successful cafe in London. When the pair moved back to Australia, it was to the Gold Coast, where Sarah managed holiday resorts before moving to the Whitsundays.

“Once here, I worked for a local five-star Resort on the front reservations desk full time,” Sarah said.

“That all became part-time once we started our family, and then the business which I’ve been working in for the last few years. We specialize in Information and Communications Technology and Security - it is our expertise and is such a great, evolving industry.”

Sarah’s role is “all things behind the scenes,” including invoicing, marketing, quoting, scheduling, parts ordering, and more.

Alongside starting the business, Sarah said starting her family is one of the best things that ever happened to her, with the couple now raising their three kids: Ruby, Xavier, and Willow.

Sarah Vickery

It’s no wonder Sarah Vickery is at the helm of one of the region’s most unique tourism businesses – she grew up in the industry, after all.

The owner of Scamper Island Camping and Water Bikes Whitsundays was always bound for boats, growing up in Hervey Bay to whale-watching parents who started one of the original Australian tours.

“Growing up in the tourism and marine industries, I have always been working on the water,” Sarah said.

“When I first started, my parents would pay me in five-cent pieces; I think I would make about $2 for a met Mike at 17. whole day’s work! But I didn’t care, I loved the work.

The couple decided to move to Australia and travelled Queensland for several years, fruit picking.

When they stopped in Airlie Beach 17 years ago, they both loved the area so much that they decided to stay.

They now gave two sons, aged 11 and nine, and the family spend the weekends watching the boys play cricket.

Jess is the Treasurer of the Proserpine Junior Cricket Association and Mike is the Vice-President.

In her downtime, Jess enjoys camping, gardening, reading and taking her dog Milo to Conway Beach.

“That job was amazing - to be this 21-year-old, female skipper coming out of the wheelhouse of my vessel, asking the crew to untie, and seeing the faces of the passengers. Yes, this young girl is in charge of this boat.”

Sarah earned the full complement of accreditations working for her parents before moving to the Whitsundays at 21 to expand her knowledge in a new marine environment. By that time, she was a qualified skipper already and began working as a deckhand for Ocean Rafting – a career that lasted eight and half years, and led her to become a Master Reef

DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY IN THREE WORDS: QUIET, CARING, FUN

Guide.

“The best thing that happened was meeting my husband, Tim, at Ocean Rafting where we were both skippers,” Sarah said.

When Sarah became pregnant, she and Tim thought it was time to buy their own business. They purchased Scamper in November of 2019, running the business almost entirely themselves up until the middle of 2022, and have now started a new venture, opening water bike tours from both Shingley Beach and Shute Harbour.

Sarah has seen her business, and her life flourish in the Whitsundays.

Terry started Arabon Seafoods at the Bowen Marina over 22 years ago and also grows hay out at the Delta. A man of the sea, he came to Bowen from Stradbroke Island as a deckhand on a prawn trawler and the town made such an impression that he stayed and met his wife, Claire.

The couple love when the kids come to visit and the first thing they do is jump in the boat to the reef, catch some fish, clean and fillet and straight on the barbie for a perfect family day.

“You can come here with your family, sit back and relax or take the boat out, put your anchor down, throw a floater out and a reddie jumps on your line, and away you go. That’s our Whitsunday Way.”

Terry is one of nine focus stories that form part of the Our Whitsunday Way campaign which is aimed at showcasing our region’s liveability as the region of choice in which to live, visit, work and invest. How can you help support this campaign? Share our videos on your social media, tell your friends and family here, interstate and overseas about our campaign and use the hashtag #ourwhitsunday when sharing photos of you, your family and your Whitsunday Way

To find out more about the campaign, visit www.whitsundayrc.qld.gov.au.