Gabe McMillan is a human dynamo. As a seasoned business woman, mother of four children under five, with a husband who also runs a business, she is celebrating ten years as the owner of Forbes’ only newsagency. The Phoenix caught up with her to get the story.

“We made the decision to purchase the business and took it over in August 2007,” said Gabe. “At that stage it was my two sisters and
I who came in to work the newsagency together. I had relocated to Forbes after working as a journalist in Dubbo.”

The family decided on the newsagency because it was something that Gabe had experience in. She had been a junior retail assistant at News On Rankin while at school, and they felt they had a bit of knowledge going into it. But the reality was a bit different. “I probably thought I knew more than I did. And we probably weren’t that prepared. With a business like this, and I’ve probably had these conversations often over the years, there’s a lot involved in running a newsagency.” “On the first day, the three of us made sure we were here at five o’clock in the morning to open the shop. My two sisters had absolutely no idea about lotteries or any idea of what was going to go into it.”

“The business had a lot of dated stock in it, so that was probably one of the biggest things that I would say that I noticed then, and it was just the feel of it. Straight away from the first day we realised that we really needed to make sure that we separated ourselves from our competitors and made sure that we had an offering that our competitors didn’t.”

“So we really started from that day about the welcoming, about the warmth of the store,” said Gabe. From these beginnings, the business changed and expanded, and Gabe ended up on her own as her sisters pursued other things. “We’ve expanded our stationery area and our stationery lines for business customers. We now have a retail salesperson out visiting businesses at least three days a week. We offer discounts to business, and have strong relationships with businesses in Forbes as their stationery supplier.”

“Toys have also been one of our biggest areas. Because Forbes doesn’t have a toy store, we now find that parents really do look to us for all those small toys for birthday parties and things.” Beginning with one full-time staff member, a couple of casuals in the afternoon, and one delivery driver, News On Rankin now has four full time staff, seven casuals, and two drivers.

Over the years they have employed over 100 people, including 40 junior staff who have benefited from the training and gone on to
achieve bigger and better things. Gabe sees News On Rankin as more than just a newsagency. “I prefer to think of us as a retailer. We offer all the mainstream newsagency products, as well as superior customer service. It’s all about that personal relationship that we have with our customers.”

It hasn’t always been easy. Gabe took over the business in the middle of a decade long drought, then the global financial crisis hit hard. They also experienced the two recent major flood events along with the rest of the community. Gabe says that “Business success is largely about showing resilience, and banding together with the community.” “There’s been lots of highlights, and lots of sleepless nights. A lot of stresses, I would never pretend that there wasn’t, but the good things have far outweighed the bad during that time,” said Gabe.

“The week before Christmas in 2015, we sold the division one winning ticket in Wednesday night Lotto. I think it was so exciting for us to finally sell a winning ticket, because when you sell as many tickets as I have sold over the last ten years it was really nice to get a winner. There was a lot of excitement in the town. But the best part is that, to this day, that winner remains anonymous.”

Another highlight was winning the NSW newsagency retailer of the year award in 2012. “That was a massive achievement for us, and this year we were a regional finalist for the NSW Business Chamber which was an excellent achievement. It’s a great accolade not just for myself but for all of the staff.”

For Gabe, it’s all about the people. “Over the last ten years I’ve loved getting to know the people who come in here. I’ve developed strong relationships with a lot of those people. And I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of loyalty shown to me by customers and staff in that time.”

“The next five years, it’ll be about looking at how we can continue our business and make sure we’ve got longevity. We ask the community to continue to support us, because while they continue to support us, we’ll continue to be here.”

Around 14 locals joined Central West Lachlan Landcare (CWLL) in beautiful weather for the Forbes planting event for Planet Ark’s 22nd National Tree Day on 29 July. Nationally, Planet Ark estimates over 250,000 people took part at over 3,000 planting sites – with results still coming in – run by councils, schools, environment and community groups and Toyota Dealers across the country, planting close to one million native trees, shrubs and edibles and helping to beautify their local communities.

The green-thumbed volunteers in Forbes planted and mulched over 100 trees in the picturesque setting, just off Bedgerabong Road. This is a portion of a larger planting that will be undertaken in the area. When the planting was complete, volunteers enjoyed lunch together and had a chance to catch up and reflect on the work completed.

“The volunteers did a fantastic job and it was wonderful to have their presence at National Tree Day. We are pleased to have such a wide age group joining us and contributing to the project,” said Marg Applebee, Co-ordinator for CWLL. CWLL have been fortunate to have the support of Forbes Shire Council and Toyota to bring NTD to the Forbes Community. CWLL and the Skillset Green Army Team will be continuing planting work in this area over the weeks ahead.

A big thank you to all of the Volunteers who make National Tree Day possible.

Whether you shop at Woolworths or Bernardi’s, it’s likely you will have come across the blokes from the local Men’s Shed during the month of July as they sold raffle tickets to raise money for their new Shed. Woolworths and Bernardi’s each donated a $250 open order as first prize, and Flannery’s Pharmacy donated a $100 second prize for each raffle.

Overall, $1920 was raised for the new Men’s Shed, and president Norm Haley said he was elated by the community’s support. “We wish to thank the members of the community for their support. We’re also grateful to Woolworths and Bernardi’s. We know most people shop at both supermarkets, so we wanted to hold two raffles.

“We only have one big fundraising month a year. The public are pretty generous to us and we accept that,” he said. The Woolworths raffle draw took place on Thursday last week, with Tania Cole of Woollies and Debbie Prior of Flannery’s Pharmacy on hand for the draw. The $250 open order went to David Nock, and the $100 went to Len Lavers.

The Bernardi’s raffle draw was held on Friday at the supermarket with store manager Selwyn Bale. Vickie Duffill was the lucky first prize winner, and Brian Spice was awarded the second prize from Flannery’s. The Forbes Men’s Shed is located at the Showgrounds, and welcomes men of all ages and walks of life, even if it’s just for a yarn and a cuppa.

Where Will You Go For Your Next Holiday?

With half the year already gone and school holidays just around the corner, it’s time to think about your next holiday. With great deals available to all of the islands, including Fiji and the Maldives, as well as Bali, Thailand, and Hawaii, now is the time to sit down with your local Helloworld Travel agent and discuss your options. Helloworld Travel has been helping Aussies see the world for more than 40 years.

As passionate travellers, they have all the handy tips that will make your next holiday the best one yet, whether you’re a foodie, sightseer, thrill seeker, sun lover, or shopaholic. Plus they have all the exclusive flight deals, hotel offers, global partnerships and real-world experience to add value to your great escape.

If you’re looking at Europe in 2018, the Earlybird airfares are due for release in September. We are excited to welcome Kerrie Musgrave
Bruem to the team at Helloworld Travel Forbes, she will join Alison Uphill and Maddi Quirk so call in and say hello or give them a call on 6852 2344 to start planning your dream holiday.

To keep up to date on all the latest deals and travel news make sure to like our Facebook and Instagram pages. We have some exciting things coming and a great competition that will be launched on these pages so stay tuned.

Injuries to the lower back are one of the most common golf related problems. The incidence of lower back pain in the male golfer is between 25% to 36% and 22% to 27% in the female golfer. It has been reported to account for up to 52% of all injuries in recreational golfers and 24% of injuries in professional golfers. The injury mechanism of nearly half of all lower back injuries in golf is due to the swing.

The modern golf swing has been shown to produce large forces on the lower back which change directions rapidly during the swing. Because golf is played in a slightly forward flexed position, along with the asymmetrical, rotational nature of the swing the forces the joints in the lower back are subject to are quite high. The compression force on the spine during the swing has been shown to be up to 8 times body weight.

So, what can you do to prevent getting back pain when you play? Maintenance of good mobility in the hips and thoracic and lumbar spine is important. This may require a regular exercise programme at home along with a good warm up before you play whilst using proper technique when lifting your bag and bending through the knees when retrieving the ball.

If you already have lower back pain consider slowing your backswing down. Make sure your weight properly shifts to your back foot and your hips rotate during the backswing. Also, avoid placing your feet too far apart during the address phase as this limits hip rotation later in the swing and increases stresses on the lower back.

For the fitness of you.
Linda Reilly