From running the hair salon at Tea Tree Gardens Retirement Village to being the Village Manager at Magill Retirement Village, Kelly Reading has celebrated many professional and personal milestones over the years
Working across two villages in Adelaide has provided Magill Retirement Village manager Kelly Reading with many memorable moments including a wedding and a career move that changed her life. Kelly moved to Adelaide from the UK in 2006, she had been a hairdresser since she had left school and was working as one when she saw a job ad for the hair dressing salon at Tea Tree Gardens Retirement Village.
“The hairdresser had been there for 15 years and had decided to retire, so luckily I got it,” says Kelly.
“I think, as a hairdresser, I’ve always been a people person and I never really knew how much I loved older people until I started working at the salon at Tea Tree Gardens.”
Married to the job
Getting married at Tea Tree Gardens has been the most memorable part of Kelly’s time at RetireAustralia. Kelly couldn’t work out where she wanted to hold her wedding in early 2020, she only wanted to have a small, private affair, when Tea Tree Gardens Village manager Lucy Mulvany came up with the perfect solution.
“Lucy said to me: ‘If you want to get married here, you can.’ And I thought, ‘Yeah, we can get married down near the creek’. So I had a very small, private group of friends and then the whole of Tea Tree Gardens,” Kelly says with a laugh.
The nuptials became a whole village affair, with everyone banding together to make the day one to remember. Kelly was married under an arbour that was built by some of the residents in the village workshop, then it was decorated by some of the other residents, who also did all the flowers.
“One of the residents had a two-seater car, so he picked me up and we went to the creek in that,” Kelly says. “It was so overwhelming because as we pulled up into the creek, my two boys were waiting to give me away and all the residents were standing there and they were all clapping and cheering. It was so beautiful.
“No matter what happens in my life, RetireAustralia will always be in my heart for that reason.”
Styling for a new career
After many years as the hairdresser at Tea Tree Gardens, Kelly was ready for a change. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Kelly started working casually in the office.
“That was really cool because I just tried to keep everyone’s spirits up. I used to drive around in the buggy and play music, get the residents all dancing on the croquet lawn and all that kind of stuff.
“I’d always known that I couldn’t do hairdressing until I retired and as I was getting older, my body was starting to hurt that bit more,” Kelly explains. “I never really knew what I wanted to do, until I went into the office and thought ‘Oh this is quite fun!’ After that I decided whatever I did, it was going to have to be within retirement living.”
This time in the office spurred Kelly on and she studied for her Certificate III in Business in her spare time
“Just as I became qualified with that, the position for Admin between Tea Tree Gardens and Magill Retirement Village came up,” Kelly explains. “As I had been at Tea Tree for so long, I didn’t want to just leave it all behind. So, I got that role but then the next minute I’m here at Magill full-time. I feel like all the cards fell at the right time and place.”
A new chapter
For Kelly, being Village Manager at Magill Retirement Village is exactly where she wants to be. “I gave up hairdressing and I haven’t missed it for one minute. I don’t like routine, as such, so I like the fact that every day is different,” she explains. “I like being around the older people and I like the fact I’m surrounded by beautiful people all the time.”
Kelly’s enthusiasm and energy shines through when you listen to her talk about helping the village become an even more vibrant place filled with happy residents.
“I looking forward to growing as a manager,” she says “My main aim is for the residents to be happy. I want to come to work every day and see them happy in their own environment. I want them to have something to look forward to, to be able to get up and have activities to go to. I want to make this place to really vibrant. I have a great team who back me up.”
We can’t wait to see where Kelly takes Magill in the future.
Find a community you can call home
