FOR the past 18 years, Tracey Thomas’s job has afforded her valuable insight into the Hawkesbury community that not all of us get to experience.
As the senior marketing manager at Richmond Marketplace, Ms Thomas has witnessed huge changes - both within the shopping centre and across Richmond - but it’s the friendly faces that she loves the most.
“I’ve enjoyed every moment. It’s the people - we’ve got a great centre management team - but I actually think it’s the retailers and the shoppers,” she told the Gazette.
Ms Thomas grew up in South Windsor, and has now brought up three children of her own in the area. She lives in Bligh Park with her 19-year-old twin girls, and her 23-year-old son has recently moved away to join the army.
“They all went to school here, and they made a lot of life-long friends. And my mum and dad still live in the Hawkesbury,” she said.
Part of Ms Thomas’s job consists of organising promotions and holiday entertainment for the community, as well as coordinating free space in the centre for non-profit organisations to fundraise for their various causes.
And she isn’t the only long-serving employee at the Marketplace: some of the retailers have been there since the centre opened in 1997.
“The store managers and the staff are lovely. A lot of staff who work here, their families come in and have lunch with them,” she said.
“And the customers - we see some come in on a daily basis to have a coffee, pick up the paper, meet friends over lunch. You get to see those familiar faces.
“We’ve seen the Marketplace grow into a much-loved community hub. The residents see the centre as more than a shopping centre to purchase things, they really see it as that meeting destination to enjoy time with family and friends.”
Does Hawkesbury have a strong sense of community spirit? “Oh gosh, yes!” said Ms Thomas.
“Everybody knows everybody, and they’re very passionate about the community, which is very evident - not only within my personal circle, but when you speak to people in general.
“It just means home for me. I love everything about it, I love the people, I love that it’s quite rural, but we’re only 50 minutes away from Sydney. I love coming home, when you’re on the M4 and you can see the signs for Windsor.
“I always say to people, when you can see the cows, you know you’re close!”
- Richmond Marketplace is platinum sponsor of the We Are Hawkesbury: 100 Faces Photographic Exhibition from June 29 to July 2 at the Richmond School of Arts. The exhibition is open 10am until 3pm each day, and entry is via gold coin donation which will go to the Hawkesbury Living Cancer Trust.