Scott has lived in the Gympie district all his life and was educated at the Federal State School, then attended his secondary schooling at Pomona State High School. He is a third generational resident; his grandparents owned the dairy farm which he grew up on with his two brothers, his mother still lives on the farm today. Scott and his wife have now purchased the farm and run a commercial beef herd.

In business Scott runs Sutton Building Solutions, a local commercial building company, and also Australian Civil and Drainage.

Scott completed his apprenticeship as a Carpenter/Joiner, after which he tried his hand in a few different industries, but kept coming back to the building trade.

Initially, he sub-contracted to a number of local builders in town. After running and managing many projects for other builders, he completed the necessary courses to gain his Builder’s License, before making a move to go out on his own in 2003. He started his business with himself and an apprentice and has grown it to what it is today.

Scott has since completed his Advanced Diploma in Building and Management.

Scott says he’s passionate about the industry because every job is different and comes with its own set of complexities and challenges. “These complexities certainly challenge you personally and make you expand your thoughts so you can complete each and every project successfully. I felt that by becoming a business owner, I could look back over each and every project with a sense of achievement.”

Sutton Building Solutions has been nominated for a safety award for the BER project (Federal Government funded project) in 2010 and has also won a safety award with QGC in 2017.

Scott loves Gympie because it’s a great community based town and he enjoys the lifestyle. He says “Gympie is close enough to our capital city, the coast and the South Burnett, but Gympie itself still has a country town feel.”

Scott is actively involved in other volunteer roles. He is the Chairman of the Traveston Rural Fire Brigade and an active member of the Traveston Progress Association. During Scott’s time in Apex, he was heavily involved in the Gympie Music Muster, Santa Fair and Gold Rush, and still volunteers his time at the Gympie Music Muster each year. He is also actively involved in Gympie Junior Rugby League.

Scott joined the Chamber Board because he wanted the chance to meet, and be involved with, like-minded business people who are also passionate about the area, and the business community as a whole.

His number one piece of advice for a local / small business owner is to “Never give up”,his greatest strength is the ability to be able to work through challenges that arise in the industry or on the job site and come up with an acceptable outcome which works for the project and team as a whole.

“What gets me out of a bed each day is the opportunity to contribute to our community in a positive way. To promote this amazing region to visitors that we are so fortunate to call home.”- Sherry Lowe

Joining the not-for-profit organisation, Mary Valley Rattler in 2021, Sherry has provided strong leadership in areas such as projects, assets and infrastructure. Sherry was appointed as Deputy General Manager in April 2022 with a portfolio that includes the sales, marketing, and guest experience team.

Sherry brings to the Gympie Chamber of Commerce a background in business, local government, commercial enterprises and tourism leadership. 

Having lived in the greater Gympie community most of her life, Sherry is proud to be raising her two children Ethan (10) and Georgia (7) with husband Bruce on their rural farm at Bells Bridge.

Sherry’s first job was picking small crops on a local Glastonbury farm. After finishing her traineeship in late 2002, Sherry left for Brisbane to start an executive support and procurement role with the Department of Natural Resources and Mines.

She returned to the Gympie region in 2004 and accepted a role with Cooloola Shire Council Records Management team.

During her 16 years with both Cooloola Shire and Gympie Regional Council, Sherry was involved in providing business support to areas such as corporate governance, executive services and several commercial enterprises.

To support her ongoing professional development, Sherry also completed Diplomas in: Business – Frontline Management, Project Management and Cert IV Training and Assessment.

In her spare time, you can find Sherry on her rural property at Bells Bridge where the family grow dragonfruit, radish, coriander and have a few pet farm animals.

One of Sherry’s recent personal achievements was finishing the 160km national endurance horse ride, the 2022 Tom Quilty Gold Cup.

A Queenslander through and through who moved to Gympie in 2019 after purchasing her ‘forever’ home here, Petra is committed to contributing to the Gympie community.

Petra has a passion for facilitating ‘light bulb’ moments for people, and for working with individuals, groups and organisations to create strong, cohesive and successful teams and communities.

Some of her favourite quotes include: 

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” 
(Helen Keller); 

“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people” (Steve Jobs); and “Leaders instil in their people a hope for success and a belief in themselves. Positive leaders empower people to accomplish their goals.” 
(Unknown).

Petra’s qualifications include a Bachelor Business Management (Human Resources) and a Graduate Diploma in Adult Education. She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders (IML).

She has over 30 years experience both nationally and internationally with small to large companies and not-for-profit organisations.

Her areas of expertise include the strategic development and implementation of:

• Human Resource Management
• Organisational Cultural Transformation
• Community Engagement
• Organisational Dynamics and Team Building
• Executive Coaching and Professional Development
• Staff Learning and Development

Petra is very pleased to be working as part of the Chamber of Commerce Board to benefit the Gympie business community.