He has been awarded Knight of Grace (Order of St John), Doctor of the University (Griffith 2005),[1] The Centenary Medal, The 1995 Australian Tourism Council Award, Paul Harris Fellow (Rotary International), in 2010 Gary was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), he was the 2016 Gold Coast Citizen of the Year,[2] and returned to local government in 2016 as a Gold Coast Councillor.

[4] As a 16-year-old schoolboy, Baildon was the youngest male selected to represent his country at an Olympics (Seoul 1988) since Australian Michael Wenden (dual Olympic Swimming Gold Medallist, World Record Holder and Commonwealth Champion).

As well as equalling Wenden's record of four gold medals at a single Commonwealth Games, Baildon became his son-in-law when he married Karen Wenden (1989 Miss Universe Miss Photogenic, Queensland state level swimming champion) at The Southport School (TSS) in 1998.

[citation needed] Baildon was a Foundation Student[5] at Bond University from 1989 to 1995, attaining a Bachelor in Communication (Marketing).

[citation needed] 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games: Board Member: Guest Speaker: Board Member, 2018 (current)[citation needed] Australian Sports Medal June 2000[8] Andrew and his wife Karen operate Baildon Group,[9] encompassing