In January 2016, we announced our latest community engagement initiative to have our bus fleet named after local iconic places, people or organisations. At that time we had also invested in the purchase of a new bus so what a great way to have her named before being put her into service. We put the call out to the community and received an overwhelming response. With the help of Keppel MP Brittany Lauga, we unanimously agreed to name the first of our fleet “Project Booyah“.
“Project Booyah is a community inclusive program helping young people develop necessary life skills to make sound decisions and better choices as well as bridging their disconnect with society. The program provided a structured community inclusive program incorporating adventure based learning, social and skills development training, mentoring, youth support, functional literacy/numeracy education and vocational scholarships to support identified at risk young people regain a sense of their own self-worth, build resilience and make better life choices.”
Young’s Bus named after “Project Booyah”
As part of our ongoing commitment to the Central Queensland community who have helped us achieve over 65 years of business success, we believe it’s important to give back. The naming of the Project Booyah bus was just the start. In March this year, we invited the Central Queensland Project Booyah participants to visit the Young’s depot & workshop. We felt this was a great opportunity for them to get some real life exposure as a mechanic and maybe even get their hands greasy whilst checking out the mechanical ins and outs of a modern bus.
David and Phil Young with the Project Booyah participants.
The visit started in the morning when David Young took one of buses and converted it into a stretch limo to pick the boys up from TAFE. Before returning to the depot, David spent some time with the Project Booyah participants to see what they got up to at CQ TAFE. As soon as that morning session had finished it was all aboard and off to the Young’s depot. During the trip to the depot, David had the boys completely engaged and listening to some of his stories. Like the time his brother Phil and him were only 8 but knew how to drive a bus. Even the police officers on the bus had a chuckle. “Those were the days” they said. Shortly after , the bus had arrived at the George St depot but David was still captivating the audience with his stories of how the Young’s family business had become a 65+ year success story. “It’s not easy. I’ve been working my entire life. I’m here on the weekends, sometimes with my brother and sister. We’re a family business. This one bus cost us almost half a million dollars. We have about 40 buses. That’s a lot of money. I never got anything given to me. I always worked hard for it. You can do the same. If you want a job, go knocking on doors. Go find one. Get the necessary skills and work your way up the ladder. There’s nothing stopping you. Start of by being a bus cleaner and then a bus driver. Maybe one day you might buy a business like this. A job doesn’t come to you so be confident and find it.”
David also said “Some of these boys obviously have an interest in mechanics. I was impressed by their knowledge of things such as Ad Blue, a diesel fuel additive we use to reduce emissions. If they put their mind to it, I’m sure they could have a future in this industry though I don’t think they should drive a bus until they get a license {laughter}”
On behalf of all of us at Young’s Bus Service, we would like to congratulate Senior Constable Joe Ramsay and his team for being so passionate in running this leadership and mentoring program.
Project Booyah participants arriving at the Young's depot
