NEPEAN BLUE MOUNTAINS PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP INC

PRESIDENT’S REPORT TO THE 2025 AGM

NEPEAN/BLUE MOUNTAINS PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP INC

PRESIDENT’S REPORT TO THE 2025 AGM

Greetings members and wider network.

With another year passing I have pleasure in presenting this report to the 2025 AGM - my twelfth as President.

My thanks to Leonay Golf Club who again allowed us the use of the room that we are in

free of charge. Members are very happy with this location as they can enjoy a bistro meal

and a drink before and/or during the meeting. Leonay Club Membership is only $6 per

annum and discounts on meals and drinks more than cover that cost. As well, during your

birthday month you can swipe your card and receive vouchers for a ½ price meal and a free drink!

Although we are a not-for-profit organization we need some finances to operate. Costs

include payments for our website, 1300 telephone number, monthly tea and coffee,

catering at the Awareness Night and subsidised Christmas Gathering. As well, this year

the Group learned that PCFA insurance was limited to public liability activities such as

group meetings and fund raisers exclusively for PCFA. As that insurance does not cover

the activities of the Board or fund raising for the Group, the Board decided to take out

Association Liability insurance at a cost of $1,168.25.

As a not for profit, if funds allow, we like to make a donation each year to the PCFA and to

Cancer Wellness Support. Donations of $1500 each were made at the AGM last year with

the donation to PCFA being made on a “double up day” which meant that our donation

was actually worth $3,000. We also donated $250 to Jay – the Melanoma Man – following

his presentation on skin cancers.

The major fundraiser is the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle and it was very pleasing to see it

raise, with donations, almost $2000 this year. This is held on the Saturday before Father’s

Day as it is a very busy day at Bunnings and we can reach large numbers through our

awareness activities.

On that same day, Fat Boy Quality Cuts in the Lennox Centre arranged with their Centre

Management for us to have a table for awareness activities and also arranged for a

number of donations to allow us to run a raffle while undertaking awareness activities.

That raffle raised in excess of $400 with donors being Fat Boys Quality Cuts, Café at

Lewers, and Mancave at Lennox.

Our other fundraiser is the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic for which our Group has acted as

scrutineers for many years. In 2024 we received a donation of $500 but due to the larger

number of competitors (canoes, kayaks, paddle boards etc) competing this year,

organisers have told us that we will receive a donation of $1,000.

Leonay Golf Club held a Charity Golf Day for us in May and donated a percentage of each

golfer’s green fees. As well the Club allowed us to hold a raffle (with all prizes donated)

which, with the Club’s donation saw over $2,600 raised for our Group.

Donors of raffle prizes were Leonay Golf Club with Club Vouchers, Drummond Golf

Penrith with a golf bag, Bunnings with a 4 burner BBQ, Big Swing Golf with a voucher for 4

golfers, Fat Boy Quality Meats with two meat vouchers and Club Members Ron and

Beverly Gibbons and Steven Simpson with gift vouchers.

Again a small band of volunteers helped out on that day and I thank them very much for

their efforts, particularly those that were at the Golf Club just after 6 am to set up.

Emu Plains Lions Club has continued its sponsorship of our website and we are very

grateful to them for that. Other donors were Gaels Club, Glenbrook Bowling Club, various

members and Pay Pal Giving Fund.

WestCare has again provided hampers to the Group and these have been distributed to

six members with two being raffle prizes at the Christmas Luncheon. Andrew Paesch of

WestCare informed me that some 872 hampers had been packed for distribution! Other

prizes – all donated are $100 Bunnings Gift Card, $50 Meat Voucher Fat Boys Quality

Cuts and from members six piece towel set Ron and Beveley Gibbons, 3 bottles of wine

Alan and Coralie Howard and two speaker Systems Greg Familo.

Highlights of the year were many with one being the presentation of Life Membership to

Liz McKervey a registered nurse who had been a member and committee member of our

group on and off since its formation.

Over the years Liz gave us great advice and guest speaker presentations as requested.

Liz was formerly a urological nurse, then the Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse at Chris

O’Brien Life House before being appointed to Nepean Cancer Care Centre as our local

Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse.

During 2024 Liz decided a career change in nursing was due and she accepted a new role

at Nepean Hospital away from urology and prostate cancer.

Another highlight was our annual Awareness Night in Prostate Cancer month of

September.

As usual there were an amazing selection of speakers who presented during the year

including Jose our newly appointed Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse, Bridget, Radiation

Technician, Dr Maria, Radiation Oncologist, and Dr Amanda, Medical Oncologist all from

Nepean Cancer and Wellness Centre, Jay ,The Melanoma Man, Daniel from Everybody

Physiotherapy, Peter who spoke on his Focal Laser Treatment, Lais a nutritionist from

Cancer Wellness Support and Cath Edwards a Trauma Consellor amongst many other

things. As well open forums were held with some being split between the men and ladies.

Just a note to new members – if you found our Group meeting gave you some comfort,

your story will be of great comfort to newly diagnosed men and their partners who would

love to listen to your stories of recent treatment. Please continue to attend our support

group meetings when you can.

During this year the Group also represented itself or PCFA at Leonay Golf Club Charity

Day, the Shannons Sydney Classic, Clarendon Classic Machine Truck Toy and Hobby

Show, Sydney German Autofest, Bathurst 12 Hour Sports Car Races, Bunnings Family

Day and the Sausage Sizzle, the Men’s Health Expo Springwood the Hawkesbury Canoe

Classic, and the Member For Macquarie’s Men’s Event at Richmond.

I know that I repeat this each year, but I believe that it is important to understand that

although we have a number of new members join each year, and it is important for any

group to have new members, our membership grows through reluctant membership as all,

or most of the men here, have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. We are the reluctant

brotherhood.

I trust that all men and their partners visiting us for the first time found us welcoming and

are encouraged by knowing that they are not alone. I hope to see you back at our monthly

meetings as often as you can make it.

My thanks to each of my five colleagues on the Board who have worked selflessly for the

betterment of our Support Group. My thanks to four of them for also putting their hands up

to serve in 2026.

Retiring from the Board is our Secretary Wayne who joined our Group in 2019 and

immediately put his hand up to replace the then retiring Secretary. On behalf of the Board

and Members – thank you Wayne for your service over the last six years.

Although remaining on the Board Graeme, our Vice President and Treasurer is nominating

for Treasurer alone, and I thank Graeme for his support to me as Vice President over a

number of years.

A quorum at our Board Meetings is five and these are held at 4 30pm on our Group

meeting night.

During 2025 I again travelled extensively and missed some meetings, and I thank Vice

President Graeme and Webmaster John for chairing during my absences.

The Board looks after awareness, publicity, money matters, library, newsletters, website,

Facebook etc and certainly make our Support Group what it is. Their enthusiasm and

humour for its continuing success together with respectful attitudes at all meetings have

made them a pleasure to chair.

I encourage all members to consider nominating for the Board as our Board Meetings are

now held, as mentioned before, prior to the Monthly Group Meeting and last less than an

hour. New nominations are welcome as new faces bring new ideas.

I must also acknowledge my wife Jan who has assisted me tremendously in the

background and led the Ladies Forums and I thank her for that. I also acknowledge and

thank all the Board’s wives for their support of our Group. Without our ladies and those of

our member survivors the Group would be a much lesser entity.

In conclusion, I again look forward to continuing our revitalisation of our Support Group

through the continuation of face-to-face meetings over the next 12 months.

With my best wishes for a Merry Christmas, Happy, Prosperous but most importantly a

healthy New Year and a reminder of our motto “YOU ARE NOT ALONE”

David Wilkinson

PRESIDENT

NEPEAN/BLUE MOUNTAINS PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP INC

14 December 2025