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Today you’ll meet Edward McArdle– everyone knows him as Eddie.

Eddie is the man behind the early beginnings of Agfert, one of the state’s successful fertiliser distribution and trucking companies.

Eddie talks of his humble beginnings at Avon, a small town in the lower north, his desire to quit school and start working for his father at 16 years old. This desire and determination led him to build up his father’s business at Avon where he sold and delivered bagged bulk fertiliser. He then moved it to Balaklava, expanding it to a 400-tonne capacity storage facility, importing fertiliser and expanding his transport fleet to travel interstate. The company now boasts a storage capacity of 40,000 tonnes with a blending plant and two outloading facilities. But like most successful businesses, it comes with some serious challenges.
Along the way, Eddie was faced with some serious financial troubles, a significant amount of money was lost, and he had to sell much of the business' assets to stay afloat and literally start again. Also, he reflects on losing his youngest son, Matt, in a truck rollover near Clare in 2016 at the age of 24. Today, Eddie runs McArdle Pty Ltd, focusing on transport and cement mixing and has handed over the reins of Agfert to his daughter, Meghan, and husband, Grant.
Eddie has had 51 years in business, and at the age of 67, there's no signs of retirement. So despite the lawnmower, the whipper snipper and the numerous phone call interruptions, enjoy the next 30 minutes with Eddie McArdle.

https://www.agfert.com.au/

http://www.mcardlepl.com.au/

Today you’ll meet Mim Ward.

Most people in the tourism/ hospitality space in regional South Australia would know Mim.

She’s a larger-than-life character, who has done an exceptional job looking after all things tourism in the Clare Valley, however Mim's career began in the outback. Mim’s early beginnings in hospitality and eventing began at the famous Prairie Hotel in the Flinders Ranges. She then started her own events business called Outback Events and was one of the major players behind The Great Australian Outback Cattle Drive during the year of the Outback.
She's also managed hotels with her husband Bruce in Victoria, as well as the iconic William Creek Hotel in the far north of South Australia, and she's about to embark on a new adventure to Coober Pedy. Why Coober Pedy? Well, her husband Bruce is now the Outback Mail Man, and Mim's about to join him.
Doing the mail run? Not so much, but is excited to see what Coober Pedy has in store for her. But before we embark on her next chapter in life, let's hear more about Mim's past.
And let's just say she's lived a full life, so strap on your seatbelt, you're in for a ride.

Listen up followers!

Episode 20 of the Voice it podcast is now available for your listening pleasure. FEATURING GIEDRE BUDRIUS

Giedre is the creative director at Honeycomb Design, a web and graphic design business in the South Australia's Clare Valley. This local business is also celebrating 15 years in business this year. WELL DONE!!!

This woman has quite a story.

In this episode, not only will you hear about career, but also her early life in Lithuania, what led her to travel and permanently settle on the other side of the world, the struggles she faced living in Australia initially, her move Clare, and then coming out as a gay woman. This is quite a journey. She's packed a lot into her 38 years, including two children, her pride and joy.
Enjoy the journey with Giedre Budrius.

https://honeycomb.design/

Mr Dave Willson has been described as the quintessential Aussie bloke, a true character, who absolutely loves a chat.

You may know him as the bloke who runs Clare Valley Tours, but he has lived quite a full life before transporting tourists around. He’s been a wool classer, excavation contractor, the resident grave digger, and a private wool buyer. In this episode you'll learn all about a 'Mungindi shandy', his recreational flying escapades, and the time he accidentally dug the grave in the in the wrong spot.
But it's also quite insightful, especially when he reflects on his wool buying days and his relationships with farmers and his vision for Clare Valley tourism.

Enjoy the journey with Mr. Dave Willson.

I didn’t know ANYTHING about the Tech industry before I approached my next Voice it guest. To be honest, I was a little bit intimidated because she is so accomplished in her field and such an influential player in the global tech industry, I didn’t want to come across as an absolute fool. I don’t know about you, but when I think about tech, I think of lots of really smart people sitting behind computers typing really complex algorithms ferociously onto a black screen. How wrong am I!!

Jo Stewart-Rattray describes herself as a tech nerd and has since the age of four. She's now one of the most influential people in the tech world with 25 years of knowledge in physical and cybersecurity information technology. Jo lives in the back streets of Auburn in South Australia's Clare Valley and runs a consulting practice in technology and security, advising organisations globally.
Her qualifications and experience in technology is so impressive, but she's also instrumental in getting more women involved in a male dominated tech industry and has made some major inroads with the She Leads Tech program. Plus she's represented Australia at the United Nations.
She's focused, articulate and a very professional leader with a passion for motivating and teaching others. This woman has an amazing story to tell and I can't wait for you to hear it. So without further ado, enjoy the journey with Jo Stewart- Rattray.

"It's better to try and fail, than to fail not trying".

In the first instalment you heard about Tim’s family's mission to escape the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, their trek through the jungles of Cambodia to the Thai Border and the horrors they faced during that 2 year experience. Then you followed their life in Australia and the challenges they faced surrounding poverty, racism, and bullying.

But through sheer determination and hard work and support from their local church, Tim and his siblings were granted a good education, giving them a chance to get out of poverty and experience a better life.

In this episode, you'll hear how Tim embarked on a career in pharmacy and how he built this empire of chemists across the mid north and what drives him to keep growing the business. Also, we get an insight into his personal life and meeting his partner Megs and how his family has grounded him. We then head back to Cambodia, where Tim has for the past 12 years been giving back to the country that was torn to bits all those years ago through his work with New Hope Cambodia.
Enjoy the second part of the journey with Tim Siv

WOW!!!!

The story you’re about to hear will give you goosebumps. It will blow your mind. It will make you appreciate the comforts in life.

This is a story of hope, courage, hard work and sheer determination.

Tim Siv has all these qualities.

You may know him as the local pharmacist in the Clare Valley, with his big happy face plastered on the shop front in the Main street. But there’s more to Tim than meets the eye....way more!

Tim is a refugee kid. He tells the story of his his family fleeing the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia during the late 70s, facing death numerous times at gunpoint, starvation, and slave labour. Tim was born in the middle of it. He wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for a bag of fish.
Tim takes you back to Cambodia, to the refugee camp in Thailand, and then to his new life in Australia. His life takes a turn in high school, a turn which led him on a path to success and out of poverty. It's an inspirational tale of someone who started with nothing and now has something. A truly successful career, which he's built from the ground up, and a good and comfortable life, while still giving back to the place where life began, through his work with New Hope Cambodia.

This is a two part series. In this episode, you'll hear about life in Cambodia and the sheer horrors of war, and his early life in Australia.
Enjoy this extraordinary first part of the journey with Tim Siv.

If you’ve ever wanted to know how to start your own clothing business, listen to this episode.

Bronwyn Campbell started Sassy Lass 5 years ago in Riverton, a small town in SA's mid north. It was originally just an excuse to sell a few clothes and drink bubbles with her friends, never did she expect such growth and success in that time.

You'll hear about Bron’s life before Sassy Lass, being a mother to a daughter with Down Syndrome, how she ended up in Riverton and how she manoeuvred the business around COVID. She is a breath of fresh air who brings a lot to the town of Riverton and surrounding areas with her support for people in need and her contributions to charities.

Enjoy the journey with this Sassy Lass.

https://www.sassylass.com.au/

It's time to get an insight into the newspaper game!

In this episode you’ll meet Andrew Manuel, the owner of the Plains Producer. Once a local rag, now a major regional newspaper. Though he didn’t start this family newspaper business, he can take a lot of the credit for growing and transforming it. Since taking over the reigns in 2008 he now owns a large slab of the regional newspaper network in regional South Australia.   He's now the managing director of Papers and Publications, which includes the Eyre Peninsula Advocate, The Two Wells Echo and part owner of The Border Watch, and he's got no plans of slowing down.

Welcome Abby McKee to the Voice it Podcast.

By day Abby works in a bank, by night she's in her dungeon arranging beautiful flower arrangements for her next event.

Abby is the face behind Magnolia and Co. She started the business 3 years ago and very quickly became one of the most sort after florists and event stylist's in the Clare Valley. Abby grew up on a horse stud near Scone in New South Wales and made her way to the Clare Valley after she met her husband, Angus at Charles Sturt University.

Abby loves her day job, but she has a big vision for Magnolia and Co with plans to delve into garden and home design. So before we talk about the future, we need to find out what makes this girl tick. What's her story?
Enjoy the journey with Abby McKee.