Thank you to our outgoing President, Justin Cudmore
We want to take a moment to acknowledge the contributions of our outgoing President, Justin Cudmore. Justin has been involved with BGF as a member of the Board since 2013, taking on the role of President from June 2018 to June 2022.
As a lawyer with over 20 years experience, Justin’s legal skills were invaluable to the good governance of BGF during his years on the board. Always having BGF’s purpose front of mind, Justin was constantly ensuring that we were meeting our purpose.
Reflecting back on his time with BGF, Justin said that he was most proud of how we have adapted to the constantly changing face of HIV.
He said, “we’re now seeing people from non-English speaking backgrounds, migrant communities, the heterosexual community, Indigenous communities and it’s been a massive challenge for BGF to adapt to that rapidly changing client base. But I think we’ve done an amazing job at acknowledging that and being completely agnostic in relation to the background of our clients. They’re just people who need help.”
Justin presided over some very challenging times for BGF with COVID-19 significantly impacting our clients and our services. He was proud of the way our staff, volunteers and clients adapted to doing things differently and quickly. He said, “It is events like these that really test the mettle of organisations such as ours, and I believe we have weathered it exceptionally well, and always with our purpose of ensuring people living with HIV are living well at the front of our minds.”
On Justin’s contributions to BGF, CEO Nick Lawson said, “Justin is a true friend to the organisation. During his tenure as President, no matter what happened, he was absolutely committed to the mission of the organisation and cared deeply about whether we were doing more for people living with HIV.”
We are forever grateful for Justin’s passion, leadership and contributions to our organisation over the past 9 years. He will be sorely missed.
In his final words, Justin said, “It’s been an absolute pleasure. It’s been a challenge and it’s been an honour to be given the responsibility. I’ve also made good friends, had wonderful working relationships and it’s been a joy to work with people who are so committed to BGF’s purpose.”
