Working for my community

My name is Terry Murray and I am The Salvation Army Hornby Family Store Manager. I have been working with The Salvation for six years as a Family Store Manager, first in Wellington and then in Christchurch.

I love working with people and having a job that gives back to the community. My aim is to make the business run as well as it can to raise money that the Army can put back into helping Kiwis in need.

In 1977 I moved with my young family from Scotland to New Zealand, to follow my career in textiles, and we have loved living here. I worked for 30 years as a manager for textiles companies in Wellington and Christchurch, managing teams of up to 65 staff.

I also spent four years working with IDEA Services in Wellington helping disabled clients find jobs. I worked with The Salvation Army Family Stores in Upper and Lower Hutt, who used to take clients for work experience.

When I left IDEA Services I saw a job was available as the manager at the Lower Hutt store and thought it would be a great fit for me. I spent six years managing Family stores in Lower Hutt, Naenae and Upper Hutt before moving back to Christchurch and opening the new Hornby Store, which has been running for 14 months.  

On any day I can go from handling the accounts and working with my staff of volunteers to serving customers, sorting donations or making a window display.

Adding my own stamp to the new Hornby store has been fun, trying to make it a more modern retail store and less like a traditional second hand store. I am always on the lookout for a new challenge and enjoy building a team, developing the staff as people and creating a good environment where every person is treated with courtesy.