Mark Olson

How long have you lived in Parkes?
30 years

Where do you work and what do you enjoy about your work?
Matthews Williams Solicitors. I enjoy helping people and solving their problems.

What do you do in your spare time after work and over weekends?
Gardening (if it is not too hot) and eating good food, particularly big breakfast on a Saturday morning!

What are you really good at?
Having a snooze at lunch time before going back to work.

If you could have a super power what would it be?
Create a genie who would grant three wishes every day.

What is your pet hate?
Making beds.

Tell us about your best holiday ever?
Visiting our son in England last year. Driving a steam train on the Isle of Wight, travelling around Europe (particularly visiting Sweden), and enjoying wonderful food and drink (especially good Scotch whisky) whilst looking at great sites.

How long have you lived in Parkes and why do you like living here? Since 1984, top place to live and we have the Elvis Festival!

Where do you work and what do you enjoy about your work? Parkes Shire Council grader operator. I like the outdoors, so what’s better than being in the middle of nowhere most of the week, plus I am one of the local Elvis blokes. (Al is Parkes’ Elvis on Call.)

What do you do to unwind after work or on weekends? Just retired from playing competition rugby this year so now it’s an open book for things to do. Still working on that one. Probably take some singing lessons would be a good start.

What are you really good at? Not sure but you just give it your best shot regardless and enjoy life.

If you could have a super power what would it be? Flying would be great but could be dangerous in an Elvis Jumpsuit…

Tell us about your best holiday ever?
Representing Australia at the Touch Football World Cup in Edinburgh, Scotland as a team manager, plus having my wife and children joining me there and touring around Europe afterwards.

Dianne Scott

How long have you lived in Parkes and why do you like living here? I have lived in Parkes for most of my life after spending my childhood in Trundle. Parkes is a friendly town with a laidback lifestyle.

Where do you work and what do you enjoy about your work? I work at Neighbourhood Central. Our team provides a variety of services from birth right through to the elderly, and although most of my work is behind the scenes (lots of red-tape!), I enjoy knowing that my efforts, along with the wonderful staff and volunteers, are making such a positive difference in so many people’s lives.

What are you really good at? Using Google!

If you could have a super power what would it be? If there was a healing superpower, then that would be it! I hate seeing people suffer.

What is your pet hate? There are many, but there’s nothing worse than hearing people sniff!

Tell us about your best holiday ever?
I have been very fortunate to have travelled to some amazing destinations within Australia and around the world. I absolutely love it! One of my favourite places is Prague in the Czech Republic for its fairytale old-town and architecture.

Barry Garment

How long have you lived in Parkes and why do you like living here? I’ve been in Parkes since 1980. I enjoy the friendly and helpful people and the relaxed lifestyle that the open spaces of the Central West allow.

Where do you work and what do you enjoy about your work? I retired in 2000 after 43 years with the DMR/RTA, 35 of which I also served in the Australian Army Reserve. Since then, teaching scripture as a volunteer to the three public primary schools has been my most rewarding ‘occupation’.

What do you do to unwind after work or on weekends? I’m passionate about old cars, and have three vintage vehicles which keep me out from under my wife, Norma’s feet. I’m also Secretary of the Parkes Antique Motor Club, and the wide range of the club’s activities provide rewarding experiences.

What are you really good at? Trying to get things right at a second attempt. Sometimes things I do don’t go quite to plan, and I have to rethink and try again.

If you could have a super power what would it be? That people would be so considerate of others that we’d not need any police forces or armies.

What is your pet hate? Trying to apportion blame whenever anything goes wrong. We need to acknowledge that sometimes people make honest mistakes, and generally don’t deliberately set out to hurt others.

Tell us about your best holiday ever?
A trip to the northern Queensland coastal area, revisiting places we first saw on our honeymoon. Whilst there had been some changes, most of the natural beauty was as we remembered.

Maureen Massey

How long have you lived in Parkes and why do you like living here? Close to fifty years. As a child my family moved around a lot but, Parkes kept drawing us back. It is a great, friendly country community where we raised our children. I still like living here because two of our three daughters live here with their young families and as a Nan it is extremely important to me to have family as close as possible.

Where do you work and what do you enjoy about your work? I have been a Learning Support Teacher at Parkes East Public School for many years and teach children reading skills. It gives me great satisfaction to see children improve their skills and begin to master the art of reading.

What do you do to unwind after work or on weekends? Tile mosaics and photography are activities I enjoy, but as I still play hockey at a representative level, I spend time training throughout the week before or after school.

What are you really good at? I am passionate about hockey and have been very fortunate to represent both NSW and Australia in Women’s Masters Hockey over the last eight years as a goalkeeper. This is after I had retired from the game for seven years. I am extremely grateful for the opportunities given to me with hockey, and my achievements have given me an enormous amount of personal satisfaction.

Tell us about your best holiday ever. For many years our family holidays were very precious, but my most exciting holiday was when I was selected in the Australian over 60s team for the Master’s Hockey World Cup in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2014. After winning the World Cup in our age division, my husband and I travelled in the
Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Germany, England and Abu Dhabi. This was an unreal and overwhelming experience as it was a dream come true to travel overseas.

Bill Jayet

How long have you lived in Parkes and why do you like living here? I arrived in Parkes in 1978 after eight years working in Sydney – I was born and raised in Forbes. I like the friendly country lifestyle. In fact we should have emblazoned on our number plates ‘’Parkes, The Friendliest Town In Australia’’.

Where do you work and what do you enjoy about your work? I retired as senior journalist with the Parkes Champion Post at the end of June 2016 after 36 years with the paper. As an elected Councillor, life has never been busier and I’m really enjoying being part of a progressive and cohesive Council.

What do you do to unwind after work or on weekends? If I’m not in the garden, I’m off with Lindy and close friends for a couple of days of relaxation, dining, wining, dining, dining and doing touristy things. Oh! Did I mention dining?

What are you really good at? I’m terrific at eating too much bread…ok, desserts too!

If you could have a super power what would it be? To morph into Superman and fly… after all I was often referred to as Jimmy Olson during my years at the Champion Post!

What is your pet hate? Tripe in any form – no matter the garnish!

Tell us about your best holiday ever? My favourite was a three week trip to Western Australia. We journeyed with with four close friends from Albany to Freemantle staying along the way at beautiful locations, eating great food where we would all order something different to share so none of us would end up with food envy!

Pam Symonds

How long have you lived in Parkes and why do you like living here? I have lived in Parkes for over 30 years and enjoy being part of this community. It is a great place to live and raise your family as it offers a  safe and friendly environment and has all the services and resources you need.

Where do you work and what do you enjoy about your work? I have worked for Neighbourhood Central for over 20 years and in the role as Executive Officer for 11 years. I love being part of a team who all have a shared interest in supporting members of the community in providing a range of services.

What do you do to unwind after work or on weekends? I enjoy taking time to catch up with family members and friends and I often travel out of town to meet up with our daughters and their partners.

If you could have a super power what would it be? It would be wonderful to be able to fly and feel free like a bird.

What is your pet hate? I cannot tolerate it when items are not put back in their original place and when people do not clean up after themselves. I also cannot stand clutter

Kevin Hartmann

How long have you lived in Parkes and why do you like living here? Only for 15 years – I am still only a visitor… I like living in country towns, especially western towns and was lucky to get a transfer here with my job.

Where do you work and what do you enjoy about your work? I am retired from the RTA, and have been volunteering for Meals on Wheels for about 10 years. It feels good to do something for somebody and I enjoy meeting with clients, having a yarn and to see how they are doing.

What do you do to unwind after work or on weekends? These days I spend a fair bit of time on the computer doing research or working on projects. Whenever I hear or see something on the radio or TV that interests me, I look it up online.

If you could have a super power what would it be? I can’t think of a specific superpower, but I would like to see more peace in the world and that people would get on with each other no matter their race or creed.

What is your pet hate? I can’t stand prejudice. I just can’t handle it when people don’t get along with everyone else. I think the postal marriage survey was a waste of money – they should have just done it.

Tell us about your best holiday ever? Before I retired, I started going on coach tours and saw a fair bit of Australia, but my favourite trip was down the 1,850km Canning Stock Route right through the middle of Western Australia. It was rugged, extremely interesting and for 18 days we did not come near a hotel or motel. We pitched our tents every night to camp.

Caitlin Hasse

How long have you lived in Parkes and why do you like living here? I’ve only lived in Parkes since April, though I have been working here for the past 18 months. I love the close-knit community, and how everyone is so welcoming.

Where do you work and what do you enjoy about your work? I’m the Retail Manager of Parkes Pharmacy and just enjoy all the fun we have as staff and with our customers. I also love getting as involved in the Parkes community as I possibly can.

What do you do to unwind after work or on weekends? Catch up with friends and have a beer… or a few.

What are you really good at? I’m quite creative. I make jewellery, cards (Xmas, birthday, etc), create wine/liquor bottle labels, burn pictures into timber, sew costumes and almost anything else people ask me to make (Facebook@handmadebycaitlin).

If you could have a superpower, what would it be? I would like the ability to morph into anything.

What is your pet hate? One thing that drives me batty is unorganised people that wait untill the last minute to do things.

Tell us about your best holiday ever. Holiday? What’s that? Haven’t had a real great holiday thus far but am heading to New Zealand next year to celebrate my 30th so I’m hoping that’ll be the one to beat.