Mr Raul Weychardt worked as a senior regional and urban planner on the Sunshine Coast for 29 years. Prior to retiring he held the position of Director, North Strategy and Planning in the Sunshine Coast Regional Council. He is a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia, and was Chair of the regional branch from 2001 to 2006. Raul has shown a high degree of professionalism and leadership establishing a model of good planning practice on the Sunshine Coast. Under his direction at Noosa Council, Noosa was identified as an Iconic Place under specific legislation and designated as a Biosphere Reserve. Other community-based advisory committees have been modelled after those established for Noosa and would not have been possible without Raul’s leadership. Raul played a key role and displayed professional ethics as a planning practitioner in the development of USC’s Building and Regional Urban Planning program. He was the Foundation Chair for the Planning Industry Reference Group in 2005 and continued to serve as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Committee until 2013. Raul was able to garner support for the University’s Planning Program from other professional planners within and beyond the Sunshine Coast and has mentored students giving guest lectures and providing valuable support to research projects.