After an impressive 30-year tenure at Mulwala Water Ski Club, Chief Executive Officer Peter Duncan is preparing to pass the torch this month.
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Under Mr Duncan's leadership, the club has undergone a remarkable financial transformation. He leaves behind a legacy of fiscal strength, having overseen $20 million in capital improvements and eliminated a staggering $7 million debt.
“We were doing it very tough at the time, we had no money in our accounts,” he said.
“But we rolled up our sleeves, consolidated and progressively paid the debt off.
“Where we have come from those early days, I am very proud of,” Mr Duncan said.
A journey from casual bartender to CEO
But for those that didn’t know, Mr Duncan (or Dunc as he is fondly known) started as a young casual employee at the ski club.
“I started off working behind the bar with Max Brown, Maverick Dowling, Kanga Orr, Reg Wheeler and Maree Page who taught me all the tricks of the trade such as staffies, where to get food for staffies, and where to go after staffies, such as Ricky D’s Pizza,” Mr Duncan fondly remembered.
“In the early days, it was my second job, and we had a lot of fun.
“I started as a permanent employee in 1993 and then later as a supervisor with Karen Rennie (Price) and after Karen left to have a family I worked with Wayne Jessup and Tony Scalzo as supervisors.
“There are many more, but I have had the pleasure to work with some great people over the years who were real characters.
“One of the funniest incidents I can recall was when Reg Wheeler was working on the front door when a bloke was wanting to engage in a fight.
“In those days we had a panic button under the desk which would set off an alarm in the bar for the blokes to run out in support.
“This particular night Reg pushed the panic button, I ran out with four or five other staff, all of about my size (small), we surrounded this bloke who then stopped abusing Reg and looked at all of us and said, “what’s this, the seven f####n! dwarfs” we just had to laugh,” he said.
Mr Duncan generously acknowledged the contributions of the club’s previous CEOs, highlighting their unique strengths.
“I learned something from each CEO. John Barnes was a strong leader with an eye for detail and procedures. Bob Wighton was a peoples’ person and mixed with the members and guests at the bar or bingo and Tim Levesque was so very capable and progressive.
“Paul Barnes (currently Moama Bowling Club CEO and a good friend of Mr Duncan) helped me get this job.”
The big events
Mr Duncan reflected on the many big events the club has brought to Yarrawonga Mulwala.
“The Red Hot Summer Tour started in my first year and ran for ten years.
“They were huge days and with massive bar sales, our record was in fact $200,000.
“We had great acts such as Jimmy Barnes, Susie Quatro, INXS, Chocolate Starfish, Jon Stevens and Icehouse just to name a few.”
Mr Duncan said the Family Fun Carnival over the Australia Day long weekend has become an important annual event for the club.
“It used to be called the Extreme Sports Expo, which was held at the Max Kirwan Ski Park.
“But it was hard work, hot, and dusty and it took our core business away from the club.
“We decided to bring it back into the clubhouse and renamed it the Family Fun Day.
“We have become the entertainment centre along the Murray Riverina area over the years resulting in the club winning The Australian Club’s Entertainment Venue of the Year in 2016.”
The awards don’t stop there, though. The club also won Federation Shire’s Business Award in 2017, and this year won the Regional Business Award across three local government areas in Moira, Federation, and Berrigan Shires.
Mr Duncan also made special mention of the Summer Ski Shows.
“Pete O’Neil and Brant Ryan do a great job with the kids, and they put on great entertainment every summer over Christmas.
“The ski show drags in up to 2,500 people each night and they are mainly visitors.
“It is also great for the local kids who are in our ski team, with many going on to represent Australia in tournaments nationally and overseas.”
Capital improvements
During his tenure, Mr Duncan has overseen many improvements.
“There have been some major projects, but the Malibu Deck stands out for me,” he said.
“It has transformed the club and added vibrancy.
“I used to watch people getting out of their boats walk up to the window and knock on the glass and we would have to tell them; ‘you have to walk around the other side to get in’.
“In 2011 I went to Wagga to have a meeting with Crown Land’s Department to get permission to build the deck, as the area past our windows is owned by the Crown.”
Mr Duncan said he walked out from the meeting with the signature he needed. The deck has since undergone four renovations and extensions and now spans the entire lounge area, has a fully equipped bar, retractable roof, stage and big screen TV.
But all the renovations have not all been smooth sailing though.
“When we added the La Porchetta Restaurant, and Tim Levesque was CEO it was an interesting opening night,” he said.
“We held the official opening with all the dignitaries and after a huge rainstorm came down and the roof fell in.”
Mr Duncan said the $3 million upgrade of the Holiday Park has also added to the experience of visitors staying at the club.
“We constantly get praised about the park, where we would previously get complaints,” he said.
“The solar-covered car park has turned out to look fantastic and has reduced our power bill and given our members cover for their cars.
“The end result has been great, but the build was a headache.”
Mr Duncan said some good things happen that are not entirely your own doing.
“A case in mind is the sealing of the northern car park.
“It was a dirt bowl for years and the Corowa Council at the time insisted that we seal it and even gave us terms to pay for it, as at that stage we weren’t very financial. It turned out to be a blessing for us.”
Mr Duncan said another good attraction to the club is the Laser Light Show which was the idea of marketing Manager Cathy Randell.
“We applied for and received a grant to build the Laser Light Show, Kids All Ability Playground (another Cathy suggestion) and extend the deck.
“All these attractions give the visitors something to do and a reason to visit our venue.”
Mr Duncan said plans for a marina out the front of the club and acquiring the Crown land that the Malibu Deck sits on are projects he would like to see come off soon.
“We expect to have a development application out to the council in February for the marina and are at the final stage of acquiring the land in front of the club.”
Important relationships
Peter Duncan said he has established some important relationships in the role.
“I have enjoyed building great relationships with businesses over the years which has built up great loyalties,” Mr Duncan said.
“Restaurant owners such as Kenny Yapp who has been here as long as I have for over 30 years is one good example.
“Paul and Grace Vitulo, who had La Porchetta, Phil and Kylie Papalia who owned Papalias Restaurant, and current Waterside Restaurant Jordan Rosmulder have been great to work with.
“Our builder of many projects Jack Riches, John Tresize of Yarrawonga Mulwala Housing has helped with the design of the holiday park and supply of apartments.
“Purtle Electrical with Possum, Tom and Luke also have done an exceptional job with all the electrical and maintenance for the club over many years.
“Steve White from Yarrawonga Mulwala Heating and Cooling and Johnny Lee has looked after our vehicles for years.”
Community connection
Mr Duncan served as chair of the Mulwala/ Yarrawonga Liquor Accord for the past 20 years.
He also served many years on the Yarrawonga Mulwala Tourism and Business Board along with representing the club with many other organisations on and off.
However, assisting the community with donations gave Mr Duncan the most pleasure.
“It is an important aspect of the club and to assist worthy organisations and sporting clubs throughout the community has been a real privilege over the many years,” Mr Duncan said.
On reflection
“On reflection, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working at the club and mixing with the regular customers, having a beer with the “Table of Knowledge” and the banter that goes with that and getting to know the many regular visitors to the club.
“Also jumping behind the bar when needed and working with the staff is good fun and lets you get to know the them better.
“My management style has been a team approach where we have the same goals and work together to achieve them.
“There are many great memories and I am proud of where the club has come, and how we got through the tough times like the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Mr Duncan also paid tribute to his long-term management team.
“Greg Hough, Chris Pearn, Brett Cleese and Cathy Randell who have been a big part of my management team from day one in my time as CEO and together we have seen many ideas come to fruition for the betterment of the club.”
Ski Club Board Chairman Matt Holgate thanked Mr Duncan for his loyal service and wished him an enjoyable ‘well-earned’ retirement.
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Peter Duncan for his years of dedicated service,” Mr Holgate said.
“Peter has played a pivotal role in shaping the success of the Mulwala Waterski Club, and we wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”
Mr Duncan will hand over the reins to the incoming CEO Greg Roberts on January 6 and will officially retire at the end of January.
Mr Roberts brings over 30 years of experience in the hospitality and club industry. He has successfully led the Murray Downs Golf & Country Club for the past 16 years and previously managed the Tocumwal Golf Club, where he made significant contributions to both club’s growth and success.
“Greg is going to be a fantastic asset, and will no doubt take the club to the next stage, which is exciting,” Mr Duncan said.