Mr Ken Hicks has dedicated his life to improving the Sunshine Coast region for the benefit of the community at large working closely with local, state and federal governments. Ken was a strong supporter of USC in the early days and that support continues to this day. In 2014, Ken stepped down after 12 years as the Chair of Sunshine Coast TAFE Council. He was a Director of Wildlife Warriors Worldwide that has built the world’s largest wildlife hospital at Beerwah and has active conservation projects in Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, South-East Asia and whale research. Ken was asked to investigate and manage the acquisition of a 135,000ha property on Cape York funded by the Commonwealth Government as a living perpetual memorial to Steve Irwin. In his capacity as Chair of the Steering Committee of the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve Ken works in the field of crocodile research and environment conservation. He has substantially contributed to the process of changing Queensland legislation to prevent mining on the Reserve. Ken established a number of businesses on the Sunshine Coast including Ken Hicks and Associates in 1974. Ken has since retired from this company which is the largest Surveying and Town Planning Company based on the Sunshine Coast and was the winner of the GIO overall award for Excellence in Business in 1999. Ken was the first businessmen to introduce the Solar Energy business to the Sunshine Coast in the 1970s, and established the first private Sunmap agency in Queensland. He was a Councillor and the Finance Chairman in the Maroochy Shire Council from 1985 to 1991 and is a past Director of the Sunshine Coast Tourism Board. He was appointed Honorary Ambassador for the Maroochy Shire in 1995, and served on Chambers of Commerce, Rotary for 21 years and was awarded a “Paul Harris Fellow” in 2003 and Apex clubs. Ken was the inaugural president of the Kawana Apex Club, which was instrumental in starting the Kawana Surf Club.