Community
17 May, 2023
Gary heads for the hills
Electrical appliance salesman retires after 47 years in the trade
A LEGEND of the Cairns electrical appliance retail industry, Gary Woodrow, is finishing up after 47 years of service.
Mr Woodrow will work his last shift at Kennedy’s Betta Home Living today.
“It’s scary, but it’s pretty exciting. I’m looking forward to this next stage of my life,” he said.
“My wife is retiring soon, and we’ve got the four-wheel-drive ready to go. We’ll travel around for three to four months and then plan trips overseas for the next few years.”
Mr Woodrow of Redlynch said he’d miss interacting with the clients the most.
“Customers are just fantastic,” he said.
“I’ve got three generations of people come to see me, and it’s great that they stick to you.
“People come to you, and they say, ‘What will I buy?’, they trust you, and they trust the companies that you work for, and there’s wonderful people out there.”
With over 47 years of service, Mr Woodrow has seen technology evolve from black and white TVs to colour, VHS and Betamax recorders, cassettes to CDs and mobile phones.
“I started in the electrical industry in 1976, working for Chandler’s on Lake St,” he said.
“When I started, I was delivering colour televisions and getting rid of people’s old black and white television, so there’s certainly been a lot of changes since those days.
“It’s what I love about the industry, there’s always something new coming into the market, and you have to keep up.”
Spending his last 20 years at Kennedy’s, Mr Woodrow said the firm had become his home and wished the best for the business.
“They (the team) are excited for me, but they’re sad to see me go as I’m sad to leave, but I’m still part of the Kennedy family,” he said.
“They’ve been very good to me, my son started his apprenticeship as an electrician through Kennedy’s, and we’ve got husbands and wives, sons and daughters that have been in the ranks of the Kennedy’s family.”
Store manager Janelle Given said the team were happy to see Mr Woodrow move to a new and exciting stage in his life.
“It’s a bittersweet time,” she said.
“We’ve had the fantastic opportunity to have Gary as part of our family, and what he has brought to the table in knowledge and experience in our industry is something you can’t take away. We feel honoured to have had him on our team.”
