Client Profile: Peter & Vera Lazic
Peter and Vera have kindly written the article below on their family, working life, retirement and the relationship they have had with our company since 1976. We greatly appreciate their contribution to this edition of Trade Secrets.
We have been married for 44 years and have a beautiful daughter, Tina, who is married with two children that absolutely light up our lives.
Peter started out as an apprentice refrigeration mechanic with Pioneer Refrigeration in South Melbourne, servicing refrigeration in about 80% of the hotels in Melbourne. At one stage he worked on the refrigeration plants at the original Melbourne Fruit and Vegetable Market, seven days a week for 12 months without a day off. As the name says, the company was a pioneer in the industry and many refrigeration companies that exist today evolved from people that forged their trade at Pioneer, where the ethics were hard work and constant learning.
Twelve months after we married we moved to live and work in Nhulunbuy, a bauxite mining town in the Northern Territory. At the time the area had no TV and radio reception was very poor. Peter worked on refrigeration/air-conditioning plants and Vera worked in the office for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. Living there, Peter developed his love of four-wheel driving and camping and the immense beauty of the Australian bush.
On returning to Melbourne after a couple of years, Peter’s work took him to many diverse countries, having worked on projects in Iran during the era when the Shah ruled, building cold storage complexes in the poorest parts of the country. In 1978 Pioneer built the largest turnkey cold storage facility in Dubai with a 3000 tonne capacity. Back then, Dubai was a sparse country compared with today. Other refrigeration projects took Peter as far as Canada, USA, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Peter became a part owner of C and G Coolrooms and was for over 30 years until he retired five years ago.
Vera was a professional secretary for many large companies in and around Melbourne. In recent years she has been a carer for her parents and Peter’s brother.
Now that we are retired, we both enjoy watching rugby league and follow the Melbourne Storm. Along with our daughter and her family, we are all ardent Hawthorn members and attend most games in Melbourne.
We were heavily involved in the Carrum Rowing Club for many years even after our daughter stopped rowing. Vera was Regatta Secretary and Peter served as President and we were both awarded life memberships.
Peter has pursued his love of four wheel driving and has crossed the Simpson Desert three times, been to Ayers Rock, Cape York, and have intersected the WA, SA, NT and Qld borders, camping in the great outdoors along the way.
GFM staff members have followed our travels and always ask where our next trip will be. We like that when we call, we actually speak to a “real” person. Peter is a bit of a prankster, and for a laugh, he often tries to disguise his voice when he calls. It’s always reassuring that when we have a query, the GFM team always puts us at ease.
We started our SMSF in 2002, and like the fact that everything is done for us. It’s just so great that when dealing with such an important subject (a happy and successful retirement) that we can talk to staff that we know and trust.
GFM have educated us as well with many informative seminars and we always enjoy the various guest speakers. Many of our friends have now become GFM clients and they also refer family and friends, all finding the same assurance we have with the team at GFM.