Love for the job pays dividends
There is an old saying that ‘if you love your job, you will never work a day in your life’.
It is also a saying that reflects the attitude of award-winning Horsham apprentice spray-painter Lauchlan ‘Lokkie’ Cunningham-mckean.
Lokkie, 20, who works for Mick Cramer Smash Repairs in Mill Street, couldn’t hide the passion he has for his job if he tried.
And it’s that passion that is winning him recognition, not only from a growing list of satisfied customers, but also mentors and teachers in his trade.
After diving into the profession as a raw apprentice as a teenager, his devotion to be the best he can be in his trade won him a major accolade.
News over the phone that he had won a highly commended award from The Gordon in Geelong, where he attends trade school through an Automotive Vehicle Refining Technology course six times a year, came as a delightful and satisfying surprise.
“I just love everything about the job. It’s the only place I ever wanted to work and my boss is one of my best mates,” he said.
“It’s a great environment and while it’s busy and there is pressure to get the work done, it’s a lot of fun.
“It’s good to be acknowledged. When I first started in the job I looked at all the awards on the wall that Mick had won over the years. I said to him, ‘I’m going to have more awards than you one day’. I’ve made a start.”
Mick, approaching 60 and in the Wimmera smash-repair trade for 40 years, said his third-year apprentice was as good a young spray-painter he had seen.
“I’ve put a lot of good apprentices on over the time but he is right up there with the best of them,” he said.
“I’m proud of him. He’s terrific, has great goals and is an example of an approach that if you want to learn and have a go you can achieve anything.
“As a kid he nagged the daylights out of me to give him a job and initially worked for me one day a week through work placement. Now he runs the paint shop and wants to train the next kid who comes through.”
Lokkie confirmed that after he had set his mind on pursuing spray-painting as a career trade, based on a natural inclination towards art, that he persisted nagging Mick for work.
“I kept bugging him and bugging him. That was about four years ago and I still love it. It’s all I want to do,” he said.
“I love the pride I take in my work. It is a great feeling when a customer comes directly to me, knowing I do a good job.
“When I finish a paint job, the look of delight on the face of customers gives me a lot of pride and satisfaction.”
Mick said he had taken as much enjoyment out of Lokkie’s award as his young employee.
“For me approaching retirement age it is like a satisfying bookend. Like I said, I’ve given a lot of kids a go and Lokkie’s recognition, for me personally, feels almost like a good form of closure,” he said.
“He well and truly deserves his award and I’m celebrating with him.”