Why do you like to do your Christmas shopping in Parkes?
Sarah McMaugh: I like to shop locally as much as I can, Christmas time and all year round, because it keeps the town rolling.
Tim Baker: I don’t do Christmas shopping, but it’s easy and close for my wife when I send her shopping. Gai likes to support the people who support me in my business.
Suzie McNamara: I like to support the local shops. I like to see the money stay in Parkes and help improve the economy of my town.
Erica Brazel
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here? I’ve lived in Parkes with my husband and three children since 2008 and prior to that I lived here from 1994 to 2001, so all up about 18 years
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I work at BWR Accountants and Advisers in Parkes. The best part of my day is talking to our clients when they come in the office. I enjoy having a chat and making a joke to brighten their day as well as mine.
What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? I love to spend time outdoors with my three little boys. I am also studying to get my Teachers Aide Certificate to help my children with their schooling, and I have written seven children’s books. My husband and I also have a trailer hire business that has just started.
What are you really good at? I don’t believe I’m REALLY good at anything, but this is what my children think I’m good at. Mr 8 says: singing; Mr 6 says: writing really fast and typing fast; Mr 4 says: working at your work. I just love the honesty of my kids.
If you could have a superpower what would it be? I would love the power that Dash from The Incredibles has. It would mean I could clean my house and do the washing at lightning speed, so I didn’t waste my weekends doing it.
What is your pet hate? When things don’t happen to my master plan. I am a massive planner and can get frustrated when I hit a snag and things don’t happen the way I’d like them to.
Tell us about your best holiday. The best holiday I had was in March this year. My husband and I went on a Carnival Spirit Cruise to the Pacific Islands (without the kids) for our 10th wedding anniversary. So much fun to be had on the high seas. Highly recommend it.
Wally Biles
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
I moved to Parkes 13 years ago, after having lived in Forbes for 21 years. Parkes is a great community with very good people. It is also a very sporty community. I used to play football here many years ago, and worked at the RTA.
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I am the Youth Liaison Officer of the Crime Management Unit of the Parkes Police. I enjoy helping families and diverting kids from the justice system. It is very rewarding work.
What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? I am a mad gardener with my partner and also enjoy cooking and having friends over to enjoy the food with them. My favourite dish at the moment is paella.
What are you really good at? Communication with all levels of the community. I think I am a very understanding person.
If you could have a superpower what would it be? I would like to be able to instil a high level of education in people. An education is so important in life and I would like to be able to encourage parents to ensure their kids go to school.
What is your pet hate? Very loud environments, and also when the Rabbitohs suffer defeat. I am a Rabbitohs supporter through and through.
Tell us about your best holiday. Three years ago my partner and I went to Thailand and we cycled through villages meeting people and visiting schools. It was a very rewarding holiday and made us realise how blessed we are in Australia to have what we have here.
Do you have a special Christmas decoration that goes up every year?
Tina Nash: I have little decorations that my kids, now 19, 24 and 26, made for me when they were in pre-school. They are perfect and they are beautiful and they always go at the front of the tree.
Lew Laing: We have an advent calendar Christmas tree, with handmade felt emblems, which we bought in Bangladesh when we lived there for a couple of years in the early 1980s. It still goes up every year.
Jenny Jewell: I have a collection of table decorations including trees and angels which belonged to my mother, Grandma Dot Green. They adorned our Christmas table every year and they still do. Wherever we meet for Christmas these decorations come along.
Do you prefer your onions over or under the sausage?
Steve Chester: The traditional way is to put it on top, and that is the way it should be. If you drop any on the floor it is a waste of good onions!
Tim Watts: I am not concerned either way. It does not really bother me.
Lew Laing: I have never thought about a preference. Having been involved in occupational health and safety for many years, it could be a genuine problem in a shop and something should be done about it.
Gill Kinsela
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
I’ve been living in Parkes since 1980. I like the people.
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I am the Parkes Meals on Wheels Service Manager. I love the people including work mates, volunteers and our precious clients.
What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? Don’t really have much spare time… On weekends it’s the family, house etc.
What are you really good at? No idea.
If you could have a superpower what would it be? Mindfulness.
What is your pet hate? People who don’t follow through with actions after words are spoken and promises made.
Tell us about your best holiday. Going to USA and Mexico, watching my daughters dance on the international stage and cruising from LA to Mexico with a great bunch of people.
Pat Lenehan
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here? Five and a half years. The thing I like the most is the great community we have within our town making it a great place to raise kids.
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I run my own business called Regos Plus Tyre & Mechanical. I enjoy the satisfaction from when our team are able to help someone out and get them back on the road.
What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? Most of my spare time is spent with my two young children and my partner. Otherwise I try to get out on my bike as much as possible.
What are you really good at? Not giving up until the job is done.
If you could have a superpower what would it be? Turn water into beer – ha ha ha . No seriously, it would be no more sick kids.
What is your pet hate? People not realising their potential.
Tell us about your best holiday. I was lucky enough to visit the USA in 2015. It had been a lifelong dream to go there, in particular Nashville. An amazing experience that I would strongly recommend to everyone.
Would you consider taking on a new sport and why?
Tylah Mapperson: I think dragon boating would be really fun because you’d get to hang out with your mates in a boat, which is something not many people get to do with their friends. And you’d get to make friends with others in the team.
Ella Ross: I would like to try a new sport to meet new friends and challenge myself, also to learn new skills and set some goals and have some fun.
Daniel Mai: It depends what the sport is. I don’t like contact sports, but I’d like to try something like archery or lacrosse. A new sport would be good for meeting new people, getting exercise, improving hand eye coordination and learning new skills.
Tracie Robertson
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
I was born in Parkes and started high school at the Parkes Christian School but moved away soon after. I finished school in Young and worked in Sydney for eight years. I worked for Telecom/Telstra and as Western Region Sales Executive for Business and Government my territory covered the majority of western NSW so I was able to move home to Parkes in 1995.
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I knew Telstra would eventually sell my section off so I studied real estate two nights per week and started with Ray White in 1998. I purchased the business in 2006 and expanded in 2011 to open in Forbes and Condobolin. I enjoy being able to promote Parkes first and then property, and especially enjoy meeting new people and sometimes we even get to make property dreams come true.
What do you do in your spare time and on weekends? Gardening and spending time with my friends and family. I also volunteer for Wires and right now I have two tiny wallaby joeys and two wollaroos. I enjoy going to Rotary and spending time with happy and positive people.
What are you really good at? I’m good at studying and have recently completed my masters degree in Business Administration. I am working on more tertiary and work-based studies.
If you could have a superpower what would it be? To make people be kind. With more empathy in the world we could each put ourselves in another’s shoes before making judgement or taking action that might hurt another.
What is your pet hate? Dealing with regret is the absolute worst! My goal is to always consider others and to try my absolute best at all times… then there is very little to regret to deal with.
Why do you think Remembrance Day is still relevant today?
Deidre Bennett: On a National basis it’s how we identify our character. Personally, my grandfather was in the Light Horse Brigade and landed in Gallipoli. Lots of cultures celebrate war victories whereas we commemorate the end of the war and those we lost.
Kevin O’Neill: We remember the ones who fought for our country and came home – and we remember the ones who fought and didn’t come back.
Kristy Berry: Remembrance Day is very relevant for our younger generation. It’s important for them to understand the meaning of the commemoration as part of our history.