Ray White Nambour Rodeo raises nearly $75,000 for community

Ray White Nambour’s Matt O’Grady & Maddie Simpson hand over the cheque to Rod Tunstill from Tramco left

by Cameron Outridge

The Ray White Nambour Rodeo has once again proven to be a significant event for the community, raising $74,786.38 this year for local groups. Despite economic challenges and reduced corporate sponsorship, the rodeo attracted 3800 attendees, matching last year’s turnout.

Ray White Principal Matt O’Grady expressed pride in the event’s continued success and its positive impact on the Nambour community.  

The funds raised will be primarily distributed through the Tram Co, a non-profit organisation, and further allocated by the Sundale Foundation’s community grant program later this year. “We’ll distribute it to non-for-profits around Nambour,” Mr O’Grady said. 

Mr O’Grady emphasised the positive atmosphere of the event, particularly for families. “With the food vendors, we make sure we’ve got people there that are selling everything from three dollar sausage in bread, up to $15 pizza. So, it doesn’t matter where you sit there. If you want to get your kids something to eat, you can still go out to an event and do it. So, that’s what we like. It’s all about families and country-style action.”

The weather was perfect for the event, a stark contrast to previous years affected by rain and COVID restrictions. “We couldn’t have scripted it better. We had all of that rain leading up to it, even to the day before. And we’re thinking, ‘Oh, no, not again.’ But, no, it held off until literally five minutes after the last cowboy had ridden, it rained about five minutes after that.”

The rodeo continues to attract a wide audience, including families and visitors from outside Nambour. The cowboys also provided positive feedback, praising the crowd’s enthusiasm. “They say that it’s one of the best crowds that they interact with. The cheers that they get, the amount of interaction when they try and work with the crowd, they said it’s just absolutely fantastic.”

In its four-year run, the Ray White Nambour Rodeo has raised over $255,000 for the community.  

O’Grady extended his gratitude to the volunteers and long-time sponsors like Done & Dusted and Cricks Nambour Ram. “Cricks Nambour have been a foundation sponsor. They’ve been there from the beginning.”

• For more information on how to get involved or support the community grant program, visit the Sundale Community Foundation’s website at www.sundalecommunityfoundation.org.au.