# 78 - The BlazeAid Story

Over 15,000 kilometres of new fencing completed More than 16,000 kilometres of old fencing cleaned up or restored In excess of 11,000 farming families lifted from adversity Many thousands of communities deeply impacted The lives of so many completely transformed It gives me great pleasure to introduce Kevin Butler to share his BlazeAid Story. In the aftermath of the 2009 Black Saturday fires, after a simple request for help to an iconic national community including over 30,000 volunteers… this is truly one of Australia’s greatest regional & rural stories. The reach and impact BlazeAid has, and will continue to have, on the lives of those adversely affected by fire, flood and the vagaries of our incredible landscape - in terms of both physical farm and individual farmer recovery - is immeasurable. It is now not surprising to me that when I first called BlazeAid to ask for help on behalf of two of our members, Kevin - its Founder and Chairman - answered my call. On top of that, he was generous enough to take my call only moments before walking into Parliament House to be awarded the Australian Farming Legend of the Year 2021/2022. Finally, it shouldn’t now surprise me that within 48 hours of that call, a BlazeAid Camp had landed, set up and started operations in Heyfield Victoria. A team of volunteers at the ready to help local farmers conquer their journey to flood recovery. Kevin’s tireless enthusiasm and deep passion speaks for itself. His determination and commitment to serving others in need and seeing BlazeAid make an impact when it matters to as many as possible is incredible. Kevin, thank you for your time. We honour the contribution you, Rhonda and your team make to the Australian farming community. To all those BlazeAid volunteers who dedicate their time to help farmers in need – rural Australia honours you. To follow the BlazeAid story or join their community, you can connect with them via their website or Facebook page. You can also read Issue One of the BlazeAid Post here - issue two will follow soon, which will include the first of Kevin’s memoirs! Finally, to those in recovery, all of rural Australia is here for you should you need us. Thank you. Jeremy & the Farm Owners Academy Team. When you’re ready to take the next step and work with us, here are three things you can do: 1. Subscribe to our ‘Profitable Farmer’ podcast This free audio podcast delivers ideas to help you run a great business – leading to more profit, control and freedom – Click here. 2. Join the Farm Owner Academy’s closed Facebook group ‘Profitable Farmer’ Our new Facebook community is where smart farm owners learn how to get more profit, control and freedom, and you can connect with like-minded farm owners – Click here to join. 3. Work with us privately If you’d like our team to help you scale up your farming business or create a ‘freedom farm’ just email us at [email protected] and put “Private” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to improve and I’ll send you the information you need to get started!