BATHURST is a good place to have been in business over the past 30 years, according to Calare Civil director and local cricket identity Garth Dean.
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"One of the things with the Central West, and in particular Bathurst, is that we've found it's usually been pretty stable in that 30 years," he said.
"The reason for that is that it's diverse. You've got farms, you've got mines, you've got some large industries - Devros and Simplots and Nestles. You've got the university, private schools.
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"You've got a lot of different things in a relatively small community, so if someone's not going well, someone else is, essentially.
"And I've seen that over and over again over 30 years. When it does drop off, say, in metropolitan areas, then some of the Sydney businesses will push out into regional areas temporarily, until it stabilises again and they go back.
"I've seen that cycle happen quite a bit."
Not that Mr Dean would have considered starting the business elsewhere anyway.
I would always look for that person now.
On his father's side, he said, the family's history in Bathurst goes back about 100 years.
And on his mother's side? "The 1820s."
"I went to Newcastle Uni for five years and other than that, I've been here," Mr Dean said. "The same as Wendy [Mr Dean's wife]. The same with nearly all the staff."
Mr Dean said he had, over years of employing people at Calare Civil, honed a philosophy that it was better to find the person with the right character than it was to find the person with the correct technical skill.
"If they've got good character, you can train them - because they have loyalty, a desire to learn, integrity, that sort of thing," he said.
"I would always look for that person now, having gone through 30 years of looking for different people to fill those roles."
Calare Civil held a morning tea recently to celebrate three decades of business since its humble beginnings with a leased photocopier and fax machine.
"The first 10 years were very hard and then the next 10 is consolidating," Mr Dean said.
"The biggest growth has been in the last five years. We have basically gone from eight employees to 18."
And what has changed in that time?
"I'm not really sure. I can't put a finger on that," Mr Dean said.
"I think we did start to push more into the building design area. There was a little bit of that, but not all. We are busy in all areas.
"It's potentially the quality of the staff generates more work.
"You put one person on and that generates work. You put another person on and, if they're the right person, that generates more."
Mr and Mrs Dean have been heavily involved in the community over the years.
Mr Dean has coached hundreds of young cricketers, holding the position of academy coach for Western Zone Cricket for five years.
His job was to identify and mentor the best junior players in the Central West.
Mrs Dean has been team manager of the successful OzScot Australia dancers; secretary for Bathurst Scouts Group; and involved in school fundraising events at All Saints' College Bathurst.