THE Men of Kangaroo Valley 2022 calendar in aid of Movember has raised $10,000 and been unveiled to all at a lunch in their NSW town.
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Last week it was teased that seven men from Kangaroo Valley on the south coast of NSW have all got their kit off (clothes, that is) in aid of Movember.
But who the dairy farmer, arborist, earthmover, adventurist, publican and cop were was a mystery.
All was revealed when their charity calendar was launched on Friday evening at the Friendly Inn Hotel, Kangaroo Valley, event organiser, Valley cop, Senior Constable Todd Cremer said the night was a great success.
"The launch went really well, there was certainly a lot of interest in the calendar and we sold a number of copies on the evening," he said.
"With sponsors and calendar sales and an auction on night by participant Mike Hayes, we have raised $10,000 for Movember which is just fantastic.
"And we haven't sold all the calendars yet and they are still available at shops throughout the village.
"It was a great evening, the atmosphere was fantastic - we raised a lot of cash for a great cause and just as importantly, brought the community together and spread the important message of men's health.
"There were even a lot of out of towners there on the night who were buying calendars."
He said the reaction within the community had been superb.
"We were able to keep things pretty close to our chest, so no one really knew who would be featuring where, or on which month, which added to the evening's suspense," he said.
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"There was lots of talk about who would be in it, I heard there was even the odd book being run on who would be the cover boy - no one got that and all money raised went to our cause, which was again fantastic."
For the record Brad Hawthorne was the "cover model".
"I must thank the community for its support - they really embraced the event and went with it and also the various businesses who sponsored the calendar," he said.
"To the brave 13 guys who put their hands up to take part, I can't thank you enough.
"They have bared all for a very important cause and have certainly broken down some barriers and opened the important conversation about men's health.
"To Kangaroo Valley photographer, Lisa Grant, who tastefully captured the photographs and to Sam at Bomaderry Printing who produced a great product and helped us immensely, a special thanks.
"The message that there are people in our community to talk to and the importance of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, men's suicide and mental health is just invaluable.
"It has been a great response, it really brought the community together and also a good way to promote our beautiful local area."
Mr Cremer said one of the most pleasing things was on Saturday morning when he was dropping off calendars to the various local businesses, all everyone was talking about was the calendar.
"People were ducking into the shops to get one and it was great to see a number of visitors to the village also walking around with a copy of the calendar," he said.
"It was humbling to see so many people with a copy of the calendar in their hands."
There are already calls for next year's calendar, with even some nominations being put forward.
"I'd definitely like to see it go around again next year," Mr Cremer said.
"There was even talk of a women's calendar, so who knows we might be able to support another different charity as well."
In the meantime, if you couldn't make it to Friday night's launch and would still like a copy of the Men of Kangaroo Valley 2022 calendar they are available in all businesses within the Kangaroo Valley village and are just $30.
For the record the 13 brave men who bared all for the cause were -
Calendar cover model - Brad Hawthorne.
Mr January Mike Hayes.
Mr February Keith Maloney.
Mr March Pete Unger.
Mr April Peter Thompson.
Mr May Sam Brewer.
Mr June Todd Cremer.
Mr July Nathan Champion.
Mr August Dave Selby.
Mr September Jamie Salkeld.
Mr October Darren Kelly.
Mr November Nick Gardner.
Mr(s) December Simon Shine and Dion Larkins.