One day after Joel Week’s 21st birthday he tragically died in a single-vehicle crash at Valentine Plains outside of Biloela.
A year on from the tragedy, the community has continued to honour the young larrikin who lived life to the fullest.
To mark the anniversary the small town of just under 5700 people rallied for The Joel Weeks Memorial Charity Bowls Day last month.
Forty-eight teams registered for the event, astounding the Bowls Club President and Joel’s father Matthew Weeks.
Matthew said the funds raised from the went to the Local Ambulance Committee (LAC) to contribute to the purchase four Automated External Defibrillators to be placed throughout the community.
“We knew roughly what that would cost and we were hoping to raise the $16,000 and the day just went kaboom and just exploded,” Matthew said.
“We raised $65,829.
“We had no celebrities there, we just had prizes.
“There’s no words that can describe that day. It is just mind blowing.”
Officer In Charge of Biloela Ambulance Station Terry Zillmann said it was remarkable to see Joel’s mates get around the auction.
A fridge worth $1,500 wrapped in pictures of Joel sold under the hammer for $20,000, purchased by a group of Joel’s friends.
“They then donated it to Matt and Lyn. There wasn’t a dry eye in the clubhouse,” Terry said.
“It was an amazing sign of the respect everyone had for Joel, the love that everyone has got for Matt and Lyn and the family and the generosity of a community that is consistently so generous.”
The cheque was donated to the Biloela LAC this month at their annual General Meeting.
Following the accident, Matthew and his wife Lynette Weeks joined the LAC and said the Bowls Day will become an annual event to raise money for the committee to fundraise for and raise awareness in the community.