General News
3 April, 2019
Marking 50 years of servicing community
THE variety of work and friendly co-workers at Christian’s in Terang has kept the past 50 years interesting, according to Keith Smart.
THE variety of work and friendly co-workers at Christian’s in Terang has kept the past 50 years interesting, according to Keith Smart.
Working in both the workshop and driving buses for the company for the past half-century, he celebrated reaching the milestone at the company on Monday.
Mr Smart started working in the business’ lube bay in 1969 when it was a Holden dealer at 22 years of age.
Director Glenn Christian said he quickly became a valued member of the mechanics team.
“He started in the workshop as a mechanic,” he said.
“He can always diagnose the problem and fix it.”
When the company shifted to include bus services in 1981, Mr Smart changed his operations with it, eventually overseeing the buses in the workshop and driving them on tours and school trips.
“I ended up as service manager for a while,” he said.
Mr Smart said the work had taken him far and wide across the state, with the range of jobs and trips a major aspect of why he has remained with the business.
“You didn’t know what you were going to be doing tomorrow,” he said.
Another positive aspect of the business was working in a small team, according to Mr Smart.
“We’ve got a lot of laughs out of working together,” he said.
“The company has been really good to me over the years. I’ve met a lot of nice people.
“I’d like to think I haven’t finished yet.”
Manager Darren Williams said working for 50 years within the same business was a rare occurrence.
“You don’t see that anywhere,” he said.