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About BD Mag

BDmag is a multimedia platform dedicated to showcasing North Queensland’s job generators and innovators to encourage growth, tourism & investment in Townsville.

The quarterly business development print magazine is distributed in Townsville, Ingham, Burdekin, Charters Towers and Mount Isa.

BDmag offers cost effective print and online advertising solutions that reach a highly engaged audience, yet proudly supports the wider business community with free publicity opportunities to share stories of growth, innovation and knowledge sharing through guest post articles.

Along with our parent company Creative Concepts PR, we recently won Best Micro Enterprise 2022 at the Townsville Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.

Our History

BDmag was founded in 2017 by Maddy Voinea and Sarah Jones to positively change public perception, encourage investment and inspire growth in Townsville and North Queensland.  The magazine immediately resonated with the local business community and published eight issues before ceasing publication in December 2018.

As one of the original freelance writers with the BDmag team, and through her work as a PR Consultant, Julie Johnston felt there was a significant gap in the market for a local publication which provided publicity opportunities for businesses. The COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020 resulted in significant hardship for many local businesses, but also resulted in many inspirational stories of resilience and innovation.  Determined to bring back a publication to support and inspire the business community, and with Maddy and Sarah’s blessing, Julie relaunched BDmag in a digital format and trialled a new look digital magazine.  Due to growing demand from advertisers and readers, BDmag returned as a quarterly print publication in July 2021 and has firmly established itself as a high quality publication that engages and inspires its audience, while offering advertisers an affordable and targeted medium with return on investment.

We acknowledge and thank Maddy, Sarah and Jaz for their passion and dedication to BDmag in the past, and their ongoing support in our new chapter.

Our Team

Julie Johnston

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Julie Johnston has 20 years’ experience working in media, marketing and video production, and is skilled at finding the beating heart of a story.  She works with small to medium businesses, entrepreneurs and thought leaders to build their credibility and gain valuable brand exposure through media exposure.  Julie shares this knowledge through group workshops and one on one coaching to empower others to create their PR.

In May 2020, Julie launched BDmag, a quarterly print magazine and online platform to showcase North Queensland’s leading businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators.  Her passion for storytelling is interwoven through her hobbies as an active member in the local theatre community and an award winning playwright.

Julie has a diverse work history across two decades that includes PR, marketing, event management and video production but the common thread that ties them all together is a love of sharing the beating heart of a client’s story.

As the owner of Creative Concepts PR, she works with small to medium businesses, entrepreneurs and thought leaders to build their credibility and gain valuable brand exposure through media exposure and hosts group workshops and one on one coaching to empower others to create their own PR.

Julie’s passion for storytelling and providing a platform for locals to share their voice in the media is the driving force behind her role at BDmag. Born and bred in Townsville, but with several years of international travel under her belt, Julie believes North Queensland deserves a dedicated media platform to shine the line on the incredible businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators, many of whom go unrecognised for their role in driving the local economy.

Julie is an active member of Townsville’s theatre community and an award-winning playwright whose short scripts have been performed internationally. In 2016, her full-length play, Displaced, was performed locally by Full Throttle Theatre Company.

Meghan Boland

Meghan Boland

OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

Meghan has spent the past 18 years building experience in event management, sales, marketing & communication, and office administration. Skilled in developing relationships, she values building connections with like-minded people, sharing strengths and collaborating to reach the best possible outcome. She is also a little bit obsessed with colour-coordinated spreadsheets, to-do lists and operational plans.
 
Meghan joins the team as Operations Coordinator, expanding her graphic design and digital marketing experience and watching over our many systems and processes.
 
When not working, Meghan spends her downtime with her husband and two children and reading books when she should be weeding the garden.
Woman wearing pale blue blouse and colourful necklace smiling at camera

Georgie Desailly

WRITER

Georgie is BDmag’s resident writer who is passionate about entrepreneurship, regional affairs and sustainability. As a Townsville local, she’s been with BDmag since the publication’s relaunch and is responsible for producing content for both our print and digital outlets, including our statement through-leadership articles which dive into a different key issue every quarter.

 She has studied in New York City with The School of The New York Times where she was mentored by some of the world’s leading expert journalists from The New York Times, and wrote a weekly segment called The Georgie Times which recapped her adventures abroad.

 Georgie also works on the other side of the media coin in her role as our PR Coordinator for Creative Concepts PR, working with purpose-led clients to connect their stories with the media.

 When she’s not frantically typing on her laptop, you can find her adding to her colourful earring collection or volunteering with the Vinnies Refugee Assistance Program assisting with the resettlement of refugees in the North Queensland community.

The Team Behind the Team

Our team is supported by a wide range of local businesses, contractors and industry partners who work alongside us to ensure that we are delivering a high quality publication with a diverse range of content relevant to North Queensland’s businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators.

Kate Banville

Defence Writer

Kate is a freelance journalist who draws on her personal military experience of serving in the Australian Army to report on matters relevant to the defence community, and her work is regularly published nationally and internationally.

The defence sector is a significant contributor to our local economy and lifestyle, so we are thrilled to have Kate’s in-depth knowledge and passion as part of our writing team.

Elisabeth Silvester

Freelance Journalist

Elisabeth is freelance journalist who has a passion for human interest and tourism related stories. 

She moved to Townsville for her career and fell in love with the city and its people, and has since relocated her husband here.

Phil Copp

Photography Partner

Phil has gained quite the reputation for his stunning photographs of Townsville and surrounding regions, but he is also skilled in corporate photography and offers local and regional photography workshops.

Phil is a local BNI member and is passionate about supporting local businesses  – he was one of the first to reach out and throw his support behind BDmag in our early days and we love having his smiling face in our extended team.

Sonia Warrell

Photography Partner

Sonia is the owner of Hello Muse, a marketing and photography service to help businesses grow and connect with clarity and purpose. 

We love Sonia’s ability to capture the true essence of a person’s personality in portrait photography.

Sonia shares BDmag’s vision for supporting emerging entrepreneurs and the business community, and we are thrilled to have her share her talents with us.