By Jeremy Sollars
FREE Times distribution manager Lisa Crouch has chalked up 10 years of service in 2016 and says she’s loved every minute of it.
Lisa is the ‘face’ of the Free Times, also providing administration and sales support to advertising sales executives and front counter duties on top of ensuring the 14,000 copies of the newspaper printed weekly are delivered on time on a Thursday.
It was just on a decade ago this month when Lisa spotted a vacancy in the Free Times for a print finishing and binding line employee when the paper was based on Activity Street in the Warwick Industrial Estate.
It was back in the days when the Free Times was owned and printed by founder and original editor Olav Muurlink who offered Lisa the job after she dropped in with her resume.
She’d previously been with Warwick’s Cleaning and Catering Products and the change of scene obviously suited her.
“I started on the finishing line and it just went from there,” Lisa recalls.
“There’s been changes in ownership over the years and people have come and gone – I’ve been very lucky to have worked with a lot of great people.
“There’s also been changes in the layout and look of the Free Times and when I started we used to come out on a Wednesday.
“My main role these days is co-ordinating distribution. We have a great team of casuals who deliver our paper and they do an awesome job every week.”
Lisa spends Wednesday nights at the Free Times distribution shed on Law Road in Warwick working with her team after the paper has been printed and delivered, including overseeing catalogue and other inserted material.
“It’s all done by hand so our advertisers can have assurance knowing their material goes into every copy,” Lisa said.
While the Free Times is delivered directly to mailboxes across Warwick and Stanthorpe and is bulk-dropped to businesses and other handy locations, Lisa has plenty of friendly regular readers who drop into the Fitzroy Street office to pick up their copy hot off the press on a Thursday and say g’day.
“Obviously distribution to homes and businesses can be affected by the weather – we do have readers who ring up and ask when their copy is going to arrive if it happens to be late thanks to rain, I guess that’s a good sign, however.”
Visitors can drop into the Free Times office on Fitzroy Street just up from the council building and congratulate Lisa on her 10 years with the company – and pick up a free copy of the latest Free Times.
