Peter Ernest LEE – Treasurer Nominee
Born: 1939 Married: 1963 Retired: 2015 Residence: Queensland
Life experiences:
1956 to 1977 – worked in family newsagency and printing office. For a number of years I was responsible for all accounting procedures for the family business including being the contact person for up to 10 tenants who rented our family owned retail premises in the Stanthorpe CBD. In later years acted as the “part-time” Manager of the newsagency section of the family business and also Manager/Secretary/Treasurer of our Family Trust.
1976 to 1993 – owned and operated a local school bus run.
1977 – Purchased family newsagency and turned it into a very successful newsagency, bookshop and stationery business. This business was sold in 1982.
1982 to 2000 – Developed and operated a computerized debtors’ ledger service for many local business houses. This assisted each business to transfer into the computer age. As all my customers had successfully achieved that goal by the year 2000 the service was no longer required. Our Family Trust expired in 2000 and was replaced by a Co-Ownership Agreement which terminated in 2016. Once again I was responsible for all the financial dealings of that Agreement.
1983 to 1987 – Chairman of local Blue Nursing Service (home nursing service). As the Chairman I headed up a fundraising program which raised in excess of $320,000.00 over a three year period. That amount, together with a grant of $250,000.00 from the Federal Government, enabled the Service to build an Administration Centre, a Day Respite Care Centre, purchase a Toyota Coaster bus and commence planning for the erection of 22 Accommodation Units.
1988 to 1997 – Administrator of local Blue Nursing Service – my role included processing the fortnightly payroll, maintaining the debtors’ and creditors’ ledgers plus the preparation of monthly financial reports and yearly budgets etc. In addition I was the contact person for each of the residents living at the complex.
1997 to 1999 – When the Regionalization of the Service was finalized I worked out of the Toowoomba Office as a roving Field Officer. Following my resignation from that position I was engaged, on a number of occasions, as a consultant.
1998 to 2004 – When visiting Tully in North Queensland in mid 1998 I was so impressed with the local telephone and business directory I decided there was an opening for a similar one in Stanthorpe. On our return home I surveyed a number of local business houses with each one offering a positive reaction. Making the venture successful involved the collection of phone numbers, addresses, email and web site details etc. It also involved selling advertising space, liaising with my graphic artist, my printers and Australia Post for the production and distribution of 7,000 free copies each year.
2004 – My final edition of the phone book as I sold the business in preparation for our move to the UK in December 2004. Fourteen years later the “Granite Belt Informer” is still the much preferred telephone and business directory for our District.
2005 to 2006 – Lived in the UK. Worked as a cashier for the Havering Council for approx.12 months from September 2005.
2007 – Lived in India for 6 months where I worked as cashier for the Hebron Christian School.
2008 to 2012 – Part-time bookkeeper for a local electronic business.
2008 to 2015 – Part-time bookkeeper for an Aboriginal based Company in the Northern Territory. My duties included being responsible for all aspects of the financial records including fortnightly payroll, debtors’ and creditors’ ledgers, reconciliations etc. all of which were done “on-line”.
2010 – Spent three weeks at a Theological College in Vanuatu advising local staff regarding the best way to record and manage their finances.
2011 to 2018 – Treasurer of the local Scripture Union School Chaplaincy Committee.
1992 to 2018 – Travelled extensively and so far have visited over 45 countries.
During my working life I have also been, at various times, the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer of our local Church, Treasurer of the local Tennis Club (where I soon discovered a Life Member had a gambling problem and was using members’ weekly fees to feed her habit), was headhunted by a local Child Care Centre to be a part-time Administrator charged with putting in place systems designed to prevent the recurrence of a situation where the previous Director misappropriated many thousands of dollars then left the country before her actions were discovered.
Since joining SERVAS, together with my wife, we have enjoyed SERVAS hospitality in Australia, Panama, Portugal, France, England, Austria, Scotland, Singapore, Czech Republic and New Zealand as well as hosting a number of Australian and overseas SERVAS travellers.