It’s difficult to sum up our mate Chris and the time he spent with us.  We will remember his positive impact on all of us, his infectious attitude, his skill at everything he attempted, his desire to serve, his energy and general likeability. He fitted terrifically into our service team, and is missed by one and all.

Whatever it may be, sharing the load with someone else can really help. For information or advice, you may wish to contact:

Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 – www.beyondblue.org.au, or
Lifeline: 13 11 14 – www.lifeline.org.au

Chris joined The P.A. People in March 2015 as a junior installer.  He was mentored by Keegan, Matt, Peter and Rob and worked for a huge range of customers.  His first day on the tools saw him assisting with a large AV installation at Emanuel School followed by a trip to Spotless Stadium to install some new speakers.  Soon after, Chris must have felt like he was living full time in Pitt Street Sydney as he worked each day for 3 weeks in the Wesley Church’s Lyceum Theatre assisting the team with the AV system upgrade.

During his 18 months with our Installed Systems team, Chris installed dozens of hearing loops, literally thousands of speakers, he roughed in hundreds of kilometres of cable, setup radio mic systems, he configured amps, mixers, monitors and projectors.  Much to his credit, everything he learned he retained…which later made him a valuable member of our service team.

By October 2016 our Service department’s workload had increased and the team were ready to employ another technician.  Chris was the successful applicant.  The role change came with a company vehicle, phone and laptop – and generated a good deal of excitement from young Chris.  It was in this role where we got to witness Chris in his element.  The increased responsibility didn’t faze him, nor did the occasional near-vertical learning curve.  Our customers warmed to his energy and attitude, and his never-failing smile.

As Chris continued to broaden his skills, he began working with our top tier customers.  He really enjoyed the time he spent with these customers as he was acutely aware of how much they valued their equipment and his skills to keep everything functional.

Initially with a good deal of trepidation, Chris attended numerous training courses.  These included various digital audio processing courses, AV controller training, first aid, heights training and high-lift boom accreditation.  As with everything Chris set his mind to, he completed each course and mastered each new skill.  As he completed each course, he returned to our customers with renewed confidence, ready to demonstrate his new skills and assist wherever he was able.

Nothing was ever too much trouble for Chris.  Tricky requests for technical support from the office were always met with positivity.  Weird and wonderful fault descriptions from our customers were always unscrambled.  Customers were left functional, well trained, and hopeful that their next work request would once again result in another visit from Chris.

When Xavier left us for The Hills in May, our search began for another technician.  And in July, post the initial Chris-led introduction, Josh joined our team.  Chris immediately stepped into a mentoring role and not surprisingly, excelled at this too.  His patience, his ability to break difficult tasks into manageable chunks, his boundless energy and skill assisted enormously with on-boarding Josh.

Chris was a good team player, happy to follow and happy to assist the more experienced techs.  But he was also a good leader and an excellent role model.  He did not tolerate rude and unappreciative customers and conversely, warmed immediately to those who recognised a job well done.  He fitted beautifully into the service team, often chastising works done poorly by other contractors followed proudly by the words “PAP would never do it that way”…as he phoned in his reports.

What’s to be said about Chris, fashion and the colour pink…except for the words “he made it work!” Pink cap, pink clipboard, pink neon high-vis vest – he had them all, he rocked them all.  A pink hard hat was once spotted in a safety magazine – unfortunately this didn’t fit well with the company colours but undoubtedly, he would have enjoyed wearing that too.

Chris, we miss your cheeky smile, your energy and your quick wit.  We miss your bouncy footsteps coming down the corridor towards our service department and your enthusiasm to give everything a go.  We all knew you had tough days and days when you struggled to get out of bed, but with that bright smile of yours ever-present, we missed how much you must have been struggling in your final days.  Now we miss you.