Greg Page is no stranger to Parkes Shire ... or to many of our living rooms!
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I know he was certainly always a welcome addition as the yellow Wiggle in our house when my boys were growing up.
Many of you would know of the initiative that he started, that has made Automated External Defibrillators (AED) accessible to communities, with the potential to save lives and increase the survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest.
Greg himself had first-hand experience of the need for an AED in 2020, which led to the Heart of the Nation not-for-profit charity and social enterprise being formed to raise awareness and increase access to defibrillators.
Some 25,000 people suffer a sudden (out of hospital) cardiac arrest in Australia each year according the to The Heart Foundation and the survival rate is only around 10 per cent, which potentially could be increased to 62 per cent based on Japanese research with more accessible AED.
In March of 2023, Central West Lachlan Landcare and the Homegrown Parkes Committee welcomed Costa Georgiadis to Parkes. As part of his visit, which also included participation in Eco Day, he was the guest speaker at our Landcare Dinner at Bogan Gate Memorial Hall and also special guest at Homegrown Parkes the following day.
We were very fortunate to have generous donations from the community to contribute towards our fundraising raffle on the evening and Costa generously donated several boxes of his book Costa's World, writing individually on each book as it was purchased.
Proceeds from our raffle and Costa's books totalled $2,678.39 which was donated to Bogan Gate Memorial Hall to purchase an AED.
The Hall is not only a community gathering space, but the block next door is utilised by travellers for camping and a fabulous rest spot in the heart of Bogan Gate.
On behalf of the hardworking Bogan Gate Memorial Hall community group, Shelley Nutley joined me on Monday to thank Greg for personally delivering the AED and for the fantastic work that he and the Heart of the Nation team are doing.
Any of us could one day require this machine, which Parkes Shire Council will be installing at Bogan Gate Hall in the weeks ahead.
A massive thank you to Costa Georgiadis, our generous local donors, Parkes Shire Council and Greg Page.
