Greg Bray is amazed on a daily basis to discover he is middle aged, overweight and still working for a living. He has no idea why he enjoys writing humorous columns, and is still waiting to meet one of those ‘ordinary’ Australians politicians keep referring to.

Mary Bolling has arrived in booming Gladstone from sleepy Melbourne. She’s gradually adjusting to the change – with plenty of help from good coffee, good talkers, and the local roller derby league. Working as The Observer’s print editor gives her a fascinating view of Gladdy, and she’s hoping the central Queensland weather helps with keeping a sunny disposition.

Nobody knows who he is, but The Observer has a new man on the ground in Gladstone sniffing out stories of love, lust and everything in between.

Beth Young is a dirty oversharer. She knows it. but can’t seem to help it. And often it gets her into trouble. Beth has lived in Gladstone, working for The Observer, for 18 months. Before that she lived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for almost three years working as the deputy editor of an expatriate magazine.

Rob Kidd from Zinc Radio has been in the entertainment business for 20 years, and while doing his daily breakfast show he comes across many strange and wonderful life experiences. This gives him plenty of material for Just Kidding, his look on life in CQ, the ups and downs, plus a little look into how his mind works getting up at 4am each day.

HER skillset includes taxi driving, social co-ordination, cheerleading (sans the short skirts and pompoms), conflict resolution and experimental chef. Meredith Papavasiliou, who has two wonderful kids, has been in regional newspapers for more than 17 years and for her, writing is as much a catharsis as it a tool of trade.

ALLEN Winter has been in the journalism business since the early 1970s. A Kiwi through and through, he’s not backward in coming forward when he finds something that’s just not right, and he tends to tell it as it is. He can take a trip down memory lane about how things were way back then, but will also look at recent happenings and put in his two pence worth. And he’s a petrolhead from way back.

PATRICK Williams is a lover of cats, Batman and social media. You're most likely to find him posting on Facebook and Twitter. Patrick’s passion for writing lead him from filing stories for the school newsletter into a career in journalism in 2008 when he got his first job at APN’s Tweed Daily News. He made the move to the beautiful Sunshine Coast in November 2010 and hasn’t looked back.

BILL Hoffman has been a journalist on the Sunshine Coast for more than 30 years. He is a keen surfer, passionate environmentalist, and champion of those with disabilities. More than 10 years ago, he started the 11km Island Charity Swim to raise money for special schools.

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KATHY Sundstrom has enjoyed more than 20 years in journalism and just loves talking to people. Kathy studied journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa. She also obtained her Honours degree in Industrial Psychology. Her first foray into a newsroom was at age 20, with a community newspaper in Cape Town. She is married to Doug and has three children.

DAMIAN Bathersby always seems to find the lighter side of life, especially if it means humour at his own expense. His outlook is brighter than his purple Kombi van which he loves to escape in at every opportunity. When he is forced to do do real work, he's a weekend newspaper editor.

SAMI Muirhead enjoys lots of cups of teas in old fashioned and often imperfect tea cups. She loves anything that is a bit faded/jaded/off white and chipped. Shabby. Her husband, The Cute Car Guy, and her love their white house with wood white floors and white raked ceilings. As well as doting over her daughter, her other loves are her shih tzus.