Dean Messiter

How long have you lived in Parkes? For the past 20 years. I was born in Forbes.

Where do you work? I have been at Westpac for the two years.

What do you enjoy most about your job? Helping people achieve their dreams and getting their everyday finances under control. I also enjoy the variety of different people I meet.

What do you do in your spare time? I like watching local sport, as well as videoing and editing sport. I generally like having fun.

How do you like your coffee? White no sugar, because I am sweet enough!

What makes your day? My two daughters, Charli and Franki. No matter how bad a day it’s been, when I see them all is forgotten.

If you could go on holiday anywhere in the world, where would you go? To the United States for the Superbowl and Wrestle mania.

Kris Kent

How long have you lived in Parkes?
I have been here for more than 25 years as my family moved here when I was little from Sydney.

Where do you work? I am the Regional Manager at Spinifex Recruiting.

What do you enjoy most about your work? Dealing with a variety of people as I like to talk a lot!

What do you do in your free time? I ride motorcycles and I’ve been a bee keeper for the past two years.

How do you like your coffee? With soy milk and no sugar.

What makes your day? Being able to help somebody and making someone smile.

What is your favourite food? I love food, but my favourite is a Czech dish called haluski made from potato dumplings, as I have some Czech heritage in my family.

If you could go anywhere in the world on holiday where would it be? I would go back to Italy for the people, environment and the roads for biking!

Allan Blatch

How long have you lived in Parkes? I was born and raised here, lived in London for five years and moved back with my wife, Susannah, just over three years ago.

Where do you work? I am the owner of AA Blatch. I came came back to buy the family business from my parents to keep a Parkes icon going. We will celebrate 65 years in business in 2017.

What do you enjoy most about your job? Helping farmers solve problems.

What do you do in your spare time? Watching box sets with my wife and gardening. We were both working in TV in London and I had to watch box sets for work.

How do you like your coffee? I prefer flat white with sugar, but I am on a diet and am trying to switch to long black.

What makes your day? When supplies, freight and the weather all come together to make sure a customer is satisfied.

Luke Williams

How long have you lived in Parkes? I moved here in 1991 from Gilgandra – that is 25 years.

Where do you work? I’ve been working at Leading Edge Computers as an IT Technician for just over ten years.

What do you enjoy most about your job? Providing a solution that does what someone needs and seeing new technology coming out is always amazing.

What do you do in your spare time?
I play a lot of squash and enjoy reading anything. I also run a youth group with my wife on Friday nights at the Parkes Baptist Church.

How do you like your coffee? Strong – I grew up in an Italian household so I’ve been on coffee for a long time. The stronger the better.

What makes your day? Going home, cooking good food and relaxing after I’ve done something.

If you could go on holiday anywhere in the world, where would you go? To Italy where I am going in about two months’ time to visit my mother’s family.

Alice Milne

How long have you lived in Parkes?
For almost three years. I moved here with my husband from Scone in the Upper Hunter Valley.

Where do you work?
I am the owner of the Pink Orchid Florist.

What do you enjoy most about your work?
I love bringing joy to people and surpassing their expectations. That is the point of flowers, to bring joy.

What do you do in your free time?
Spending time with my family and friends and baking. At the moment I love baking a gluten free banana and coconut bread. It is really yum.

How do you like your coffee?
My preference is flat white, but I often end up drinking all sorts of coffees made by mistake in the shop.

What makes your day?
Being productive and seeing people enjoy what I create, and of course beautiful, fragrant, brightly coloured flowers.

If you could go anywhere in the world on holiday where would it be?
Barbados, because it looks amazing with its lush green vegetation, beautiful tropical water and lovely people. It looks like you would get a really relaxed vibe there.

Ian Ireland

How long have you lived in Parkes? All my life – I was born here.

Where do you work?
At Mitre 10 for the past 11 and a half years.

What do you enjoy most about your job? Serving customers and fixing their problems.

What do you do in your spare time?
I enjoy just hanging out with my family.

How do you like your coffee?
I don’t drink coffee. I prefer water.

What makes your day? Waking up and spending time with my family.

If you could go on holiday anywhere in the world where would you go? Go to Europe to see all the old war sites. I’ve never been to Europe.

What is your favourite food? Home made lasagne.

Margaret Tanner

How long have you lived in Parkes? For the past 46 years. We moved here from the lower Blue Mountains.

Where do you work? At the Craft Shop. I used to be a teacher librarian at the Holy Family Primary School for 30 years.

What do you enjoy most about your work? The people, customers and members. They are very interesting people and make beautiful crafts.

What do you do in your free time? I love reading historical fiction, listening to classical music, knitting and doing crochet, as well as enjoying time with the family of course.

How do you like your coffee? I prefer black tea.

What makes your day? Having my family all together again, which becomes harder as the children are moving on.

If you could go anywhere in the world on holiday where would it be? I would like to go back to the UK again and really take time to explore it. We went a few years ago, but the time was too short and we did not see much of London as we fell ill.

Peter Magill

How long have you lived in Parkes? I was born in Parkes and have lived in the Parkes region for 53 years.

Where do you work? At Griffins Leading Edge for the past 37 years. I became owner in 1996.

What do you enjoy most about your job? New technologies and the challenges they bring. I particularly enjoy anything to do with digital technology, such as digital two-way radios and digital security cameras.

What do you do in your spare time? I like spending time with my family going camping and water skiing. I also like playing golf.

How do you like your coffee? Milk and two sugars.

What makes your day? When there are people around me who are positive and enjoy what they are doing.

If you could go on holiday anywhere, where would you go? Explore more of Australia, especially Western Australia around Broome, and the Top End.

Katie Monkerud

How long have you lived in Parkes? All my life – I was born and bred in Parkes.

Where do you work? Maintenance Shed.

What do you enjoy most about your work? The variation in my day-to-day duties. Nothing’s ever dull around here, and I work with a great bunch of guys.

What do you do in your free time? I spend most of my free time with my children, and in my actual free time I play soccer.

How do you like your coffee? I don’t drink coffee. I prefer to drink water.

What makes your day? Happy faces!

What is your favourite food? Anything home cooked. I enjoy making new recipes. I also love strawberries.

If you could go anywhere in the world on holiday where would it be? Bora Bora (island in the Leeward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia) – it is just beautiful there. I have always wanted to go there since a friend of mine went there on honeymoon. It will be a relaxation holiday.