Regularly, we will feature a member of the HBNC team, giving you a chance to Meet the Neighbours. The goal is to highlight and celebrate the people at the heart of our organisation, who work tirelessly to make the Wide Bay Burnett community a stronger and more resilient one.

This week, we'd like you to meet Ivan Mapp, Vice President of HBNC's Management Committee.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a retired professional engineer.  I have been married to Robyn since 1980 and we have two married daughters both living in Brisbane.  We have three beautiful young grandchildren.

We moved permanently to the Bay when I retired in 2015.  We have been coming to the Bay for holidays since the mid-90s. Previously we lived in Chinchilla for six years and Biloela for 21 years prior to that.

I enjoy any outdoor activities but namely golf, fishing, clay target shooting and travel.  I currently volunteer at Riding for Disabled where I am responsible for coordinating all the maintenance on the grounds.

I have been a member of Rotary for 23 years and have held most positions.

What is a quick summary of your professional background?

I graduated as a mechanical engineer in 1978 and my 37-year professional career was in the Queensland electricity industry mainly in coal fired power stations.  I worked at most of the power stations in Queensland.  In that time, I worked in maintenance, operations, business development, and project and asset management.  For the last six years of my professional career, I was the manager at Kogan Creek Power station near Chinchilla.  The 750MW Kogan Creek unit is the newest and largest coal fired unit in Australia.

Whilst in Chinchilla I was on the Board of the Chinchilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry group which aimed to deal with some of the emerging issues of a rapidly growing town due to the expansion of the gas industry.

What drew you to work with HBNC?

I have been involved with volunteer organisations and community groups for over 20 years and when I retired, I had a little more time to utilise my experience in supporting the community.  HBNC provides much-needed support to a range of people in the community.

How do you see your role making a difference in the lives of the community’s most vulnerable?

My role is to assist the Management Committee make good business decisions that focus on the needs of the community.

What’s one thing you hope to see happen or change for our community?

I would like to see more public awareness of HBNC for the valuable work that they do.