DENIS Ryan was born in Melbourne, lived his earlier years in Greensborough and when he married, settled in Melbourne’s North Eastern suburb of Wattle Glen. Dennis and his wife Diane have lived in Beechworth for just over two years.

Dennis has strong connections to the region having spent his early childhood years at Bright holidaying with family.

“We have spent a lot of time in this beautiful area over many years since then,” he said.

“We also lived in Myrtleford and ran the Golden leaf Motel for two years back in the 80s.”

"We have friends in Wangaratta, Myrtleford and Beechworth with some friendships going back to our school days. While visiting them between COVID lockdowns, we saw our house in a real estate window, fell in love with it and decided to retire to Beechworth.”

What did you do workwise?

I am a mechanic by trade, ran my own business in Melbourne for more than 17 years and then became a maintenance person at a secondary college in Lalor for 11 years before retiring.

What brought you to the maintenance role before retiring?

When working, the pressure of running a business took its toll and I was lucky enough to apply for and get the maintenance job at the college where my daughter was teaching. This role was very fulfilling.

What did you love about working in that role?

I enjoyed working at the school, interacting with the teachers and students and had a great connection with everyone there. I enjoyed the role I played in keeping and adding to the school grounds.

What do you do in the community?

I have not undertaken any volunteering as yet in Beechworth. However, I was a member of the Lions club in Myrtleford while living there in the 80s. I will be looking to join the Beechworth Men’s Shed next year after we finish most of our travels. Hopefully I can participate with doing jobs for the community as part of this group.

I am a member of the Old Cranks Motor Club which I enjoy greatly. We have met many great people of the Beechworth community through this club.

Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing?

It would be the road conditions and inadequate street lighting around the area. Serious work needs to be done with both. Lighting in some residential areas of town needs to be looked at. With the increase in crime around the North East, I feel that more street lighting would perhaps protect our homes a lot better.

What do you see as one of the most important current world issues?

The conflict happening in Ukraine and Russia and the growing tensions from China is what concerns me and many others I would think.

If the person you would most like to meet came to Indigo Shire (past or present), or was already here, who would that be and what would you show them?

Former racing driver Dick Johnson – five-time winner of the Australian Touring Car Champion and a three-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. I would take him on a drive around Beechworth to show him this beautiful well-preserved historical town and introduce him to the members of the Old Cranks Motor Club. I’d ask him to be a guest speaker at the ‘Drive Back in Time’ event and to address one of our club meetings. I’m a Ford person having worked at former Ford distributor Melford Motors as an apprentice and have always admired Dick.

What book are you reading?

I am not much of a reader but keep up with daily news via the internet and enjoy watching historic documentaries.