It’s not every day you see netball champion Laura Geitz behind the controls of a 30-tonne excavator.  The AVJennings ambassador was on hand mid-year to mark the official start of heavy earth works at Riverton, a future residential community in Jimboomba, 43 kilometres south of Brisbane CBD.

We should point out, Geitz wasn’t actually allowed to operate the excavator but she wanted to! The former Australian netball captain was more than willing to have a go, having had some experience working the levers of heavy machinery on her parent’s farm in the Darling Downs.

When the Riverton residential community is complete, there will be approximately 1200 homes, housing more than 3,000 residents in an idyllic, semi-rural lifestyle, within easy reach of Brisbane. A combination Geitz genuinely found appealing.

“Being a country girl at heart, I understand the importance that space provides, and that community provides and I think, as you get older, you realise just how important those two elements are to your life,” Ms Geitz said.

One of the reasons Geitz became an AVJennings ambassador was a shared commitment to community spirit and an active lifestyle. She is passionate about people getting outdoors and leading a happy and healthy life.

When we design residential developments, we do so in a way that makes it easier for people to get out and about by incorporating features such as play parks, open spaces for ball games and cycleways.

“Becoming a mother has made me realise something that is so apparent and that is how important space actually is…I think when you look at a place like Riverton, it’s combining the best of both worlds.

My lifestyle means I have to be based in the city for what I want to achieve in my occupation, but it doesn’t mean that it limits me to living in the hustle and bustle of the city when you have places like this that are available,” Ms Geitz said.

“These places are what people are searching for.”