News

I’m James Green, the Managing Director of GreenCon. It is with huge sadness that I write to tell you about a valued work colleague – and, for many of us, a close friend – who passed away the day before Anzac Day, this year.

Garon, 44, passed after a short period of illness. The pace with which his disease progressed shocked everyone.

He started with GreenCon on Monday 8 February 2010, and worked with us for 15 years.

Across those years he proved himself to be competent in almost everything we do as a civil construction company. He would turn his hand to anything we asked, and was able to fix (or make a reasonable fist of fixing) pretty much anything.

Garon was an incredibly valuable employee.

But not only was he competent in almost everything we would ask of him, he was also qualified and ticketed to operate a large amount of the different kinds of plant and equipment we have. He’d held his truck licence since 2018; he gained several earth moving tickets – roller, excavator and backhoe – in 2020 and passed his high risk forklift licence in 2021.

He was also a very competent welder – even though welding was not a core reason why we employed him.

Garon was also first aid qualified, and kept that skill up-to-date across the years. He was always one of the first to put his hand up to get requalified when it came time to do so. He never shied from doing what was needed to make sure he was as competent as he could be with that particular qualification.

I remember him telling me he wanted to make sure he was as competent in first aid as he could be so, if need be, he would be able to use that skill at work, but also if the need arose for his children, or when hunting or camping. He saw the value in the qualification that stretched far outsides the bounds of the workplace.

Garon had a quiet, natural leadership style. He would take the time to discuss what he was trying to achieve without ranting and raving, and made sure that how he wanted something to be done was achieved the way it was needed.

And he was also not afraid to call things out, in situations where he felt that was warranted. He was an exceptionally strong advocate for solid behaviour – a strong supporter of what I call being “Above the line”. It’s something I ask from my team all the time and, if Garon noted anything he felt fell below that line, he had no hesitation in bringing that to my attention, especially over the past four or five years.

In this company, and within the industry, I need people to tell me the way things are, which is often not the way that I think things may be. And Garon was one of those sort of people. He would have no hesitation in talking to me about anything that concerned him, when he felt that was appropriate.

He was a confidant within the company. I appreciated that more than I let on, but I will always appreciate that about him.

That said, he could also be a bit of a scallywag – as anyone who knew him would testify!

As an example, I recall him taking delivery of his pride and joy back in 2012; a VX Commodore. The vehicle had a 5.7L Gen III V8 under the hood and, true to form, on pretty much the first day he had it he took it for a spin, to stretch its legs.

Garon being Garon, it was apparent he ended up stretching its legs a little too much – and eventually found himself getting pulled over by the Highway Patrol.

But… Garon still being Garon, he felt he wanted to take advantage of his chance to explain things in court.

“There’s no way was I going as fast as what is claimed!”, he exclaimed to the presiding judge. (And by going as fast as what was claimed, if the record can be believed it was ‘a little bit’ north of 100 mph).

Last thing I knew, he was able to see the claimed speed lowered a bit, to an almost ‘sedate’ 140 km/h (Either way, though, the outcome was the same: he needed to walk for a while. I’ll say no more about that!)

He also had a massive love of everything outdoors. (How much love? Here’s something I’ve taken from his 2010 resume. In the section Garon titled Interests he simply wrote “I really enjoy fishing, the outdoors, working on cars and spending time with my family.”)

It was abundantly clear he had a passion for hunting – fishing and shooting – and he absolutely loved camping. So, when you reflect on what he said in his resume, it’s no surprise to learn he was absolutely adamant about taking his children on a camping trip earlier this year. I remember speaking to him about that – he wanted the trip to remain something his children would be able to hold forever as a memory. And he did it. Although I feel he was not in the best of health, he did everything he could to make sure the family managed to get away and visit Rocklands, just west of the Grampians, for a while and make sure they could enjoy what turned out to be his last trip to the great outdoors.

When he fell ill, late last year, I know it came as much of a shock to me as it did to him. It simply wasn’t something any of us thought he would have to deal with.

But, to his eternal credit, despite the illness and undergoing treatment he still took the time to drop into work to say ‘hi’ from time-to-time. In fact, on one of his last visits he dropped off about four boxes of fresh veges from his garden, and pickles he’d made from an oversupply of fruit and veges.

As simple as that gesture was, I feel that provides us with a true reflection of the man. Despite being sick, he still held others in his thoughts and took the time to try to make sure our lives were just that little bit better, despite everything that was going on with his.

So, Garon, from myself and everyone at GreenCon – all your current workmates, and everyone who’s worked with you before – we are going to miss you.

To your parents Wendy and David, partner Corrine, your adored children Caleb, Rhys, Alyvia and Chase, and your family and friends, on behalf of all our employees and families, we extend our heartfelt sympathy to you all.

And Garon, from my point of view not only were you an incredibly valued employee, to all of us you were a friend.

Thank you, my friend.

We are going to miss you.

May you rest in peace.