LOCAL LIFE
ONE OF THE HAWKESBURY ’ S FINEST ...
Put it there pal , put it there . Larry Collins ( l ) is congratulated on his devoted service to Windsor Leagues by Michael Pullin , who will take over the reins as general manager next month . Photo : Kathryn Johnston . by Greg Martin
“ You ’ re going into limousins ,” I exclaimed .
“ Crikey , have you bought a large property out west for the herd ?”
“ You boofhead ,” Larry Collins laughed . “ Not limousin cattle but limousines as in vehicles .”
I had begun this interview with Larry as he counts down to December 1 , when he retires from his his role as the muchadmired general manager of Windsor Leagues Club .
He was asked how he was going to occupy his time now that he was retiring .
Larry , however , is not the retiring type – a man who has never been afraid of hard yakka all his life , he will be the oneman band in his new business , Penrith Limousines .
“ I have two vehicles to cover specific jobs , and as a bloke who has always enjoyed driving and talking to people , the business will be a perfect fit for me ,” Larry said .
As Juliet said to Romeo , “ parting is such sweet sorrow ” – so too will it be for Larry and Windsor Leagues staff , members , committee members , footy players and their supporters and club sponsors .
“ Our long list of sponsors such as Eather Group , Richmond Club and of course your wonderful magazine , have enabled the club to prosper both in the licensed club and out on the football field .” Larry came aboard the good ship Windsor Leagues in late December 2019 , and all involved with the club will be forever thankful that he was at the helm over the ensuing couple of years .
As with most businesses , Windsor Leagues was struggling financially because of bushfires , two rounds of COVID and not to mention , four floods .
OK , there were four floods , one of which nearly reached the crossbars of the footy field goalposts .
Those fires , floods and the two COVID shutdowns could have resulted in Windsor Leagues shutting its doors but thanks to Larry , the highly professional Wolves committee and staff , the club survived and has since thrived .
“ I can never heap enough praise on our staff during the two closures due to COVID – especially the second one which lasted for three months ,” Larry said .
“ You know Greg , staff members really came to the fore during that time , they rolled up their sleeves and we all chipped in to do the extensive gardening and painting the entire exterior of the club .”
Also aiding and abetting the club ’ s survival was forming a powerful relationship with the giant Seven Hills RSL Group .
“ Over the years I had developed a strong friendship with Joe Bayssari , the group ’ s general manager , and we instigated discussions between both 6 ISSUE 162 // NOVEMBER 2023 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT