The main John Deere tractor dealer in the north and north-east has paid tribute to a former member of staff.
HRN Tractors, which is headquartered in Insch and has depots at Turriff, Kinloss, Muir of Ord, Caithness and Balbeggie in Perthshire, has honoured Neil Webster after 34 years’ service at the firm.
Managing director Neil Barclay said: “Neil has clocked up an amazing 42 years selling agricultural machinery – 34 years with HRN Tractors plus eight years previously at Sellars of Oldmeldrum.
“Neil was initially based at the Insch depot where his sales area was originally Deeside. The HRN Turriff depot opened in 1985 where Neil became manager pushing sales up into Moray until our Kinloss depot opened in 1999. Neil then concentrated on the area around Turriff and Banffshire, the area he represented until the day he retired on June 12, 2015.”
Stuart Barclay, of HRN Tractors, added: “Neil has been an inspiration and a role model to our younger employees. If all employees were as hard working and focused then the world would be a better place.
“Simply put Neil Webster was a one in a million employee and will be sorely missed by both his customers and all his colleagues at HRN Tractors.
“We wish Neil a long, happy and healthy retirement spending quality time with his wife Linda, his daughter who lives locally, and his son who is currently out in New Zealand, but most importantly just spending quality time out on the golf course.”
The Barclays presented Mr Webster and his wife with flights to New Zealand so they could visit their son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren.
HRN staff gave him a Border Fine Art sculpture and some money towards his trip, while customers past and present gave him further funds for his trip and various gifts at last month’s Royal Highland Show. He was also presented with gifts from Kverneland and Bailey Trailers.
Receiving his gifts, Mr Webster thanked everyone and said: “It has all been about being part of a team – a great team selling John Deere. It has been a pleasure.”