WAYNE NEVILLE felt briefly lost when his role as Kerang’s station master was made redundant, having always worked on the railways.
However, he quickly found a new career, and after 19 happy years at the now TJ Stockfeeds, Mr Neville will retire today.
Shortly after finding himself out of work in the year 2000, Mr Neville, known to all as Tige since childhood, was offered an opportunity at the then Kerang Stockfeeds.
Being a country boy and having owned and trained racehorses, he was not out of his depth selling animal feed, having an understanding of feeding requirements.
“I came over here because my mate Joe Tartaglia owned it,” Mr Neville said.
“He asked me to come and give him a hand one day bagging off a truckload of oats.”
He started working at the business a couple of days a week but it wasn’t long before he became a fulltime employee.
“Joe and I worked together for about 17 years,” Mr Neville said.
“We had a few changes in that time and I ended up buying Joe out and owning it myself.”
One change which took place during that period, was the business name.
TJ stands for Tige and Joe.
Although Mr Neville sold the business about a year ago to Millers Ag, the TJ remains.
Despite selling the business, Mr Neville remained at the business during the transition phase.
Reflecting on his two careers, Mr Neville still fondly recalls his 29 years working for the railways, the last nine of which were in Kerang.
He was concerned when made redundant, not knowing how he could apply his railway skills to other opportunities.
A course provided by the railways at the time helped him realise he had many skills.
“I was more qualified than I thought I was,” Mr Neville said.
“I had a forklift licence, which was good. Because I was selling tickets and dealing with the public with the freight and the parcels, I had public relations skills.
“I used to do the payroll and accounts over there, so that was a bit of accounting. Computers were just coming in then and we had a few computer skills.”
Mr Neille was able to easily apply this skillset to his role at TJ Stockfeeds over the years.
After almost two decades, Mr Neville is looking forward to retirement.
“I’ve had a pretty full working life,”Neville said, noting he has five grandkids and enjoys travelling with his wife, Maree.
The couple have already booked a trip to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the city’s famous festival and also have a cruise on the Queen Victoria to look forward to.
He is also looking forward to spending time with his grandchildren.
He also hopes to catch a few Murray cod and surpass his biggest catch, which is currently about 60cm in length.
