John Saltmarsh - the last 40 years

Occupation/s? Tell us what you have been doing

Accountant, OH&S Manager, CFO

What would you tell your 1977 self if you could send them a message now?

This may seem strange coming from an accountant an occupation generally regarded as very conservative people, however whenever an opportunity comes up after due consideration unless there are alarm bells ringing grab it with both hands. Don't over analyse things and be prepared to take some risks in life. Some will not end well but overall most people will come out on the right side of the ledger if they are prepared to take some calculated risks. 

In 1989 I left a good paying job to come back and commence a practice with zero clients. For the first 2-3 years Clayton and I took home less money than our receptionist and we were thinking "what the hell have well done?". In the end it paid off. 

Similarly Andrew Lawson and I took a decision only 2 years ago to risk everything we had both worked for since leaving high school to build a new facility in Burnie. Again until very recently that decision was looking a little scary but is now proving that taking the risk was worth it

What would you like to share about the last 40 years?

After leaving UHS I went to Devonport TAFE for the next 2 years and completed a Cert IV in Business Studies. At the completion of the course I was able to obtain a position as a trainee accountant at a public practice in Devonport. During my time in this position I commenced an accountancy degree by way of correspondence which meant a lot of late nights studying and completing assignments after work each day . 

In 1984 I got a phone call from a former work colleague Clayton Williams who had moved to Mackay, Qld a couple of years earlier. He told me there was a job going at the public practice he was working at. I grabbed the opportunity and successfully applied for the job. I had 5 memorable years in Mackay which included playing footy for a local club the Eastern Swans made up of a great bunch of blokes from all over Australia. 

In 1989 like so many Tasmanians both Clayton and I made a decision to return to our grass roots in Ulverstone where we established a new accountancy practice which was known as Williams Saltmarsh & Associates for the next 20 years and grew to become the largest practice in town. Twelve months after returning to Ulverstone I met a lady called Carol at the Lighthouse disco . Carol and I have been happily together ever since that night and were married in 2000. I am also the proud step father of Laura who shortly before I met Carol had been battling life threatening cancer for 2 years and had beaten it. In 2001 Laura gave birth to our miracle grand daughter Ashlin who was never meant to be due to the chemo that Laura had in the earlier years. This was a joyous moment for everyone but also another time of sadness due to Laura being diagnosed with cancer during a routine test shortly after giving birth to Ashlin. Laura's fitting spirit came through once again beating this evil disease and she has now been in remission for over 15 years. 

In the latter years of running the accountancy practice I had become burnt out and jaded and therefore made a decision to get out of public practice. I sold my share of the practice to a large Launceston based firm whilst Clayton made the decision to stay. At the time of making the decision to get out of public practice I had no idea what I was going to do until one day Andrew Lawson suggested I come and work in his company AJL Heavy Equipment. I had acted as Andrew's accountant for the previous 20 years. Initially I told him that he probably wouldn't have enough for me to do but he in his usual laconic manner said that I could look after OH&S as well as crunching a few numbers.Knowing nothing about OH&S I stupidly thought that it couldn't be that hard so I accepted the offer on the basis that I acquire equity in the business which Andrew and came to agreement on. It wasn't long after I commenced completing Cert IV in OH&S that I realised I had been hood winked by Andrew. OH&S, what a nightmare. 

Anyway over the past 8 years the AJL Group has grown rapidly and diversified in to other field principally training and these days number crunching keeps me more than busy and someone else thankfully looks after OH&S 😃

What are you proudest of about your life? What have been your greatest achievements?

Being in a a loving relationship with Carol for nearly 27 years and playing a small part in seeing Laura grow up to be a caring mother who is living life to the fullest despite her past battles with cancer and ongoing associated medical issues.

Subsequently seeing our granddaughter Ashlin grow up to be a level headed teenager and proving that the apple hasn't fallen far from her mothers tree . Although in my earlier years I had some success in rowing and footy it took me to my middle age years to achieve what I consider personally as one of my greatest achievements and that was running into the MCG at the completion of the Melbourne marathon. In the subsequent 8 years I have become addicted to long distance running and have completed a number of marathons and endurance running events however I will never forget that first time I ran in to that famous tunnel and out in to one of the greatest sports stadiums in the world.

Any regrets?

Often spending too much time at work and not enough time with family over the years something I intend to make up for over the rest of my life. I also regret it took me until my mid 40's to discover long distance running.