LYNSEY Reilly felt an instant attraction to Leeton after moving to town with her family in 2002.
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Mrs Reilly grew up in Bathurst and came to Leeton with her husband Andrew and their baby daughter Charlie when Mr Reilly was offered a position with SunRice.
“Despite the fact Andrew grew up in Goolgowi, I had never heard of Leeton and was coming in completely blind,” Mrs Reilly said.
“We instantly fell in love with the place.
“We made the decision when we moved to town to ensure we involved ourselves in the community and try to make our new town feel like home.
“That decision was one of the best ones of our life.”
After living in Leeton for seven years, the drought was taking its toll and the Reilly’s made the gut-wrenching decision to leave to ensure they could continue to progress their careers.
They headed to South Africa where they lived and worked in Cote d’Ivorie on the west coast of Africa.
Mr Reilly was the country commercial manager for Newcrest Mining and Mrs Reilly consulted to them as a communications specialist and set-up the internal communications department.
It was an interesting time for the family, who eventually decided to move back to Leeton so Charlie could receive a top education.
It is difficult to compare our time raising a family in Cote d’Ivoire with Leeton as they are as different as night and day,” Mrs Reilly said.
”Roughly six weeks after moving, there was an election crisis that resulted in civil war.
“We were evacuated numerous times and at one point had to live in the country next door, Ghana, for four months. At this point, I had to home school Charlie.”
Mrs Reilly now runs her own business – Lynsey Reilly Communications (LRC).
She said co-ordinating her company from Leeton had been one of her best decisions.
“Living and working in Leeton has been critical to the success of LRC,” Mrs Reilly said.
“LRC is a full-service communications agency specialising in working with clients in rural NSW – that would be a little tricky to do from the city.”
Outside of work, the family has many interests, but none more so than their passion for the Leeton Phantoms Rugby Union Club.
“Outside of football, it’s all about my family, friends and travel,” Mrs Reilly said.
“I’m all too aware that it won’t be long until our baby leaves home, so we try to make the most of our time together under the one roof.”
The draw of Leeton for Mrs Reilly has always been its diversity.
“Like everyone else, the community is another aspect that I love about Leeton,” she said.
“Over the years I’ve been involved in numerous community organisations – SunRice Festival, Phantoms, Australia Day, Light Up Leeton, Leeton Farmers Market – and I’m always blown away by the generous spirit of the people in this town.
“Why would you choose a city commute when you can live down the road from work, earn a great living, breathe the beautiful country air and bring up a family in a genuine community?”
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