Fri 15 Aug 2014 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
After more than 20 years of service, Body Positive CEO Bruce Kilmister will retire at the end of the year. The HIV peer support organisation says his first involvement was so long ago that no records are available to confirm exactly when that was. “However, he has certainly been a Member of Body Positive from the mid-nineties, which is a far back as we can go in the archives,” it says. In the late-nineties Bruce volunteered his time at Body Positive and was Chairman for the next five or six years, when he took up a permanent position of employment at Body Positive in the role of CEO. The Body Positive Board says during his leadership, Kilmister has built the organisation up to one that provides an extensive range of services and facilities for People living with HIV/AIDS today. “From a tiny office that Body Positive shared with the Burnett Centre in Auckland, Body Positive has grown to accommodate the entire building at Poynton Terrace in Newton. This ideally situated and spacious location has meant that the members have easy access and their needs are well met.” From its humble beginnings, when there were just two part-time volunteers, Body Positive now employs or contracts over 20 staff and service providers. In 2013 Kilmister managed the expansion of the organisation’s services to Wellington, and now a Body Positive in the capital can be accessed for people living with HIV/AIDS in that city and the surrounding region. “Bruce is to be acknowledged for Body Positive becoming a respected charitable trust, with a reputation for providing professional service, support and advocacy for people living with HIV throughout Aotearoa New Zealand,” the Board says. Kilmister is also a former Auckland local body representative and someone who was integral in Homosexual Law Reform campaign fundraising. He’s also served as a JP, celebrant a member of the Ponsonby Business Association board and part of the community group funding scheme COGS Auckland Committee. "He has been tireless" The New Zealand AIDS Foundation has been quick to pay tribute, with Executive Director Shaun Robinson saying he is "one of the key advocates in the struggle against HIV." Robinson continues: "He has been tireless in his push for access to medications and ensuring that people living with HIV have a voice in all matters affecting their lives. "We wish him well in what he chooses to do next in his life.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 15th August 2014 - 11:59am