Prominent PIAA member John Ferguson, MD of Brisbane-based Fergies Print & Mail, has been awarded an Order of Australia medal (OAM) in the Australia Day Honours List for his service to sailing and to the community.
“Obviously, I’m chuffed about the award,” says the Olympic yachtsman. “Sailing has been part of my life all the way through and I spent last weekend out crabbing on the boat and fishing.”
Ferguson was part of the Australian yachting team in four Olympic Games from 1968 -1988 - both as a competitor and a team manager - and is a former commodore of the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. “Back in my day, we had to run chook raffles to buy a new sail. Unlike the athletes of today, we never received a penny for our equipment and training expenses. The only things we did get was airfare and accommodation.”
A former 25-year member of the management board at University of Queensland Press, Ferguson just notched his 50th year at family-owned Fergie’s – the company originally founded in 1868 by his great grandfather – where he’s been managing director since 1976.
“It’s a hard market out there but we’ve all been through tough times before and it’s all part of the repositioning of the printing industry. We’re looking forward to a great year in 2017.
Fergies Print & Mail, based at Hamilton, an inner northern suburb of Brisbane, is a leading provider of communication services which include digital and offset print, mail, cross media, secure storage and supply chain management. The company services the eastern seaboard, into the Northern Territory and across the Pacific.