Jenny grew up in Bundaberg before moving to Brisbane to complete a Diploma of Teaching (Home Economics) at kelvin Grove Teachers College.

 

On taking up a posting she met husband Bill and they have now been married for 38 years with two children.  

Jenny also held a variety of committee positions in the kindergarten and schools that the children attended, while continuing part time teaching. 

 

On returning to Brisbane in 1987 and purchasing a restaurant, a whole new world of staff and customer management, conflict resolution, team building, cost controlling and marketing had to be conquered.  It was time to move on after 3 years in the hospitality industry, so Jenny took up a position as a Workforce Training and Development Consultant with the Queensland Government.

 

Retirement in 2001 allowed a new focus on, and more time spent with her first grandson Oliver who has since been joined by grandsons Samuel and Nicholas.

 

Jenny and Bill moved to Buderim in 2004 where as a matter of interest they spent their honeymoon in 1969!

Paul Donaldson

 

Paul's involvement with Bloomhill started when he volunteered to work in the Buderim Op Shop in 2002.  He was elected as secretary in 2005 and has continued in that role to the present day.

 

He and his wife Janice retired to the Sunshine Coast in 1999 after nearly 40 years in the education field.  After 17 years teaching and lecturing in New Zealand he migrated with his wife and 3 children to lecture in Australia.  He retired from Charles Sturt University

in 1998 and worked as an education consultant in mathematics and student welfare services at tertiary level for AusAID in Solomon Islands and Fiji until 2006. For 7 years he was also a visiting Consultant for remote Aboriginal community schools

in the Kimberley region.  His wife Janice plays in local orchestras and has continued to teach violin.

 

Currently, Paul is still a volunteer in the Buderim Op Shop. He is also a volunteer teacher and tutor trainer for Solutions Adult Learning Centre, a non for profit volunteer community organisation, which provides literacy and numeracy tutoring to adults. 

 

Frank Gerhard was born in New Zealand and was educated in Christchurch.  After graduating from Canterbury University he served in the Royal New Zealand Navy as an Instructor Officer before joining  Shell in 1957. 

 

Following an assignment in London he returned to New Zealand to take up a senior position.

 

In 1970 Frank was transferred to Shell International based in London before taking up a position as a Director of Shell Nigeria in 1972.

 

In 1975 he joined a UK- based company as Far East Director and spent three years working from the Philippines.  In 1979 he moved to Singapore to set up his own company.

 

In 1991 Frank and his wife, Jeannette, retired to Portugal before settling on the Sunshine Coast in 2005.

 

Having himself survived a major cancer operation Frank is a keen supporter of Bloomhill.  As well as overseeing its financial affairs he is also active in Rotary. 

Brett Graham is the director of Ray White Maroochydore, Ray White Buderim and Ray White Coolum.  Within these businesses he also operates a commercial division, two finance businesses as well as one of the largest Property Management divisions on the Sunshine Coast managing over a 1,000 properties with an assets value close on $400 million.

 

 

 

Jan is a registered general and mental health nurse, with a background in nurse education spanning the last 30 years.  Her tertiary qualifications are in education and social sciences. She has held numerous clinical nursing positions during and prior to her career as an educator, thus enabling her knowledge to remain current.  Her academic position is Associate Professor of Nursing at the University of the Sunshine Coast, where she is the Program Leader of undergraduate nursing and has the responsibility of maintaining the program for about 500 students.  Her particular lecturing interest are in mental health nursing, and in the area of palliative, continuing and rehabilitative care.  The focus of her lectures is 'living with illness' and she draws on the expertise of practising nurses and other health professionals to give her students a holistic view of care.

 

Jan moved (retired!) to the Sunshine Coast from Bathurst NSW in 2004 where she had been Head of the School of Nursing and Health Science at Charles Sturt University, and has been involved with Bloomhill in the role of volunteer since 2005.  In 2005 and 2006 she undertook work in respite care, as a buddy and a driver.  She's also given lectures in the workshops for volunteers working with clients of Bloomhill.  She returned to academic work in 2007 and has been at USC for three years.

 

As she moves towards retirement (again), she has more time to be involve with Bloomhill, and is pleased to be a member of the Management Committee, with a particular perspective on the Care and Volunteer functions of the organisation.  She works closely with Anna Braaten-Pow, Manager of Care and Alex Bert, Volunteer Coordinator and enjoys the professional interactions.

 

Jan's previous volunteering has been with Rotary in Bathurst, including a year as President of the Bathurst Macquarie Rotary Club, and as an active member of various professional committees in mental health nursing.       

 

Margaret Gargan - Founder of Bloomhill Cancer Help in Buderim 1997.

Margaret has been nursing for the past 40 years, specialising in palliative care.  She became involved whilst working for the Blue Nursing Service in 1979 and presented her first paper at a national conference in Melbourne in 1984.  Since then she has had the opportunity to present papers at international (Cancer Nursing Conference in London) and national conferences. Margaret held a position as guest lecturer at the University of Queensland, involved in the education of 1st year medical students.  

 

Margaret along with a team has instigated four models for palliative care: including ward 4B in The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, Karuna Hospice Service in Brisbane along with a Buddhist monk Pende Hawter.

Margaret was the coordinator of Palliative Care Services for the Sunshine Coast District Health Service for four years. 

 2001 - Awarded a Fisher Community Australia Day award.

 2001 - Received a Commonwealth Recognition Award for

             Senior Australians

 2002 - Bloomhill Cancer Help was awarded the Inaugural Des

            Scanlan Memorial Award for the most outstanding  

            community organisation.

 2003 - Awarded a Centenary of Federation Medal for her

             service to health.

 2004 - Awarded an Honorary Senior Fellowship from the

             University of The Sunshine Coast.

 2004 - Awarded a Queensland Regional Achievers Award.