THESE days it’s hard to find employees who will stick around for a couple of years, let alone more than three decades.
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However, that is exactly what Leeton’s Joan Cutter has done, notching up 33 years at Toorak Winery.
Last week she spent her final days at the winery before retiring, with her last official day on Wednesday.
Mrs Cutter first started at Toorak on the bottling line when her sister was working at the business.
We’re a family-owned business and that’s exactly what Joan has become to us … she’s part of our family now.
- Chief winemaker Robert Bruno
However, since then she has held various roles and is known as being the “jack of all trades at the winery”.
“I do purchase orders, warehouse … a bit of everything really,” Mrs Cutter said.
“When I first started I was looking for permanent work, so it’s worked out well.
“I’ve only had three jobs in my whole life.
“The first was when I left school selling carpets and manchester, then when I become a mother and now this one, which I’ve had for 33 years.”
A dinner to celebrate Mrs Cutter’s retirement is planned for Friday night.
Mrs Cutter has no concrete plans for her retirement, saying she’s looking forward to spending time with her children and grandchildren.
Toorak Winery has been operational since 1965, with Mrs Cutter being part of the business for a huge chunk of that time.
Chief winemaker Robert Bruno said everyone would miss having Mrs Cutter around.
“She’s been a great worker and puts the interests of the company beyond her own.
“Not just that, she’s just very conscientious and wants to do a good job.
“We see that in the quality of her work and she pushes everyone around her to do a good job as well.”
With Mrs Cutter deciding to retire, she said the work place was something she would miss.
“The best part about the job has definitely been the people, but also the opportunity to learn … there’s always something new to learn,” she said.
“I’ll definitely miss being here.”