Member: IAM Ethics Council

The interesting thing about volunteers is you often see the same people across various volunteer roles across multiple organizations. Often these people are also very successful in their own career and can appear to be larger than life. My dad used to say, “if you want a job done, give it to a busy person—they always get it done.”

The fact is they are just people who feel a calling to give back something, to something, they have got a lot out of themselves and realize life is more about what you give than what you get. My experience is much the same. I have made a life from the moving industry and from that life have come some exceptional experiences.

My first volunteer role was joining the council of AFRA (Australian Furniture Removals Association). I first held the role of state representative, then treasurer, president, and now back to state representative again. During that time, I also became active in AIMA (Australian International Movers Association) and am currently chairman of this organization along with being Australian FIDI president.

As part of my role with AIMA I was asked to speak at the BAR conference in UK. At this conference, Terry Head (then president of IAM) was also attending, and he asked me to join the Ethics Council of IAM. That role suits me down to the ground—people who know me think I am pretty square, so obviously I have strong opinions as to what is right and wrong. FYI the right way always appears to be the hard way in the beginning.

Now just for a bit of perspective, all this volunteer work has not affected my own business in a negative manner. I am GM of Conroy Removals Pty Ltd in Australia. In the time since I joined AFRA, our company has tripled in size and now has a national footprint across Australia. You must never lose sight of your own business. First and foremost, I am a business operator—my volunteer work counts for nothing if I neglect my own company and all the people who put their trust in me to succeed.

Volunteer work is also a great networking opportunity. It will give you as much back as you put in.

The happiness you get from sitting in a room (or being on a Teams meeting at 1 am) with a bunch of likeminded friends is truly uplifting and something hard to describe.

Giving back to the industry that has given so much has also brought me the best of friends. In an industry where we are competitors in our own country, I have met and grown to love the mateship that can be achieved when the common denominator is volunteering for the betterment of the industry as a whole. You park your own company opinions at the door on the way in and put on your industry hat for any topics or decisions to be taken to the council.

In this way I have been fortunate to gain the closest friendships I have; this has transcended competitive boundaries and is now a deep respect that allows us to love spending time together.