RACQ celebrates 30-year partnership with LifeFlight Rescue

RACQ celebrates 30-year partnership with LifeFlight Rescue | Insurance Business Australia

Insurance News

RACQ celebrates 30-year partnership with LifeFlight Rescue

Rescue pilot looks back at decades-long journey

Insurance News

By
Roxanne Libatique

The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) has celebrated 30 years of partnership with LifeFlight Rescue, an aero-medical service provider.

Thirty years ago, RACQ became the naming rights sponsor of CareFlight Rescue Service, now known as RACQ LifeFlight Rescue.

RACQ LifeFlight Rescue’s aeromedical network enables Queenslanders, especially living in rural or remote communities, to access community helicopters and air ambulance jets to go to the hospital if needed. Since its inception in 1979, the service has delivered rapid-response aeromedical care to over 77,000 people.

“The service they provide to Queenslanders is invaluable, and I feel incredibly proud to be honouring our 30th anniversary with RACQ LifeFlight Rescue this year, and I know our members feel proud too,” said Melanie Calzavara, community and sponsorship manager at RACQ. “Seeing the statistics of how many people the rescue crews are helping – sometimes close to 7,000 people a year – really solidifies why we have continued our support for so long.”

What is it like to be a RACQ LifeFlight Rescue crew?

Peter Marris, RACQ LifeFlight rescue pilot and base lead in Bundaberg who joined the organisation in 1998, said making a tangible difference in people’s lives has kept him in the service

“Being able to make a difference in the outcome for people in distress adds a totally different dimension to job satisfaction,” Marris said. “To be able to do that while doing something that I am passionate about makes me feel very lucky.”

Marris added that he hoped people would continue to appreciate the life-saving service RACQ LifeFlight provided for Queenslanders.

“There is no doubt that RACQ LifeFlight Rescue will continue to be a valued service to the community for years to come, something people hopefully appreciate and will continue to support,” he said.