Between work, football, cricket and choir, Lindsay Neilson has juggled it all and recently celebrated a 30th work anniversary with Foodstuffs South Island.
Neilson worked in the Dunedin Distribution Centre and started as a store person with Foodstuffs in April 1993, when the role required the team to pick orders by pen and paper, and pickfaces weren’t labelled. Neilson recalled that knowing where to collect the correct product was a matter of memory.
Over the years, Neilson has been involved in the teams that introduced licensing and plating inward goods for storage and were also involved in the Dunedin DC expansion in 2002.
Neilson currently assists in the daily operation of the DC control room, ensuring everything in the warehouse is done in the correct order and on time.
“The variety of the job and the people you work with, the friendships and camaraderie, make it a great place to work,” stated Neilson.
Dunedin Distribution Centre Manager Gareth Weatherston congratulated Neilson on his 30th anniversary with Foodstuffs South Island.
“It’s great to have hard-working, dedicated team members like Neilson, who has brought a lot of knowledge, value and commitment to the job and his team,” said Weatherson.
Neilson keeps busy as a volunteer in cricket and football. In the last decade, he’s held roles as a scorer in domestic and international cricket matches. Highlights include New Zealand versus India and NZ versus Sri Lanka. In 2017, he was made a Life Member of Kaikorai and a Life Member of Mornington AFC.
Neilson is also a member of the Royal Dunedin Male Choir, which he’s been part of for the past 21 years. They get together to perform twice a year at mid-winter and end-of-year Christmas celebrations, filling up the fantastic venues they perform in, such as St Paul’s Cathedral, with their joy and resonance. Choir rehearsals are held once a week when the group belts out a wide variety of old classics, including Billy Joel and Queen.
Working at Foodstuffs has enabled him to pursue all his extracurricular activities, which Neilson is grateful for.
“Between work and all my other commitments, sometimes it’s hard to fit it all in, but it’s good to have the support of my boss and my workplace to have a good work-life balance,” said Neilson.
The one thing Neilson says has been constant during his career is change, which Neilson finds exciting as it keeps him busy. He continued sharing that being resilient, involved, and open to opportunities was essential.
