Victoria Stone-Meadows

Exemplar Coaches and Limousines is celebrating the fifth anniversary of their operations supervisor, Tiara Tayley, joining the company.

Ms Tayley, born and bred in Mossman, first started at Exemplar as a fresh-faced 16-year-old and has since gone on to become an integral part of the team.

She said when she first started she had a lot to learn but quickly grew to love working at the transport company.

“I remember I was very nervous at the interview and Cheryl was asking me where I wanted to be in five years and didn’t know then that I would still be here now,” she said.

“To be honest, I would have loved to have answered I would be here this long but I didn’t expect it because this was my first real job and it was all new to me.

“I am a lot more comfortable now.”

Owner of Exemplar, Cheryl Welham, said Ms Tayley has flourished over the years and she is very proud of the woman she has grown into.

“She has matured a lot although she always was mature; that’s what attracted me to her,” Ms Welham said.

“At 16 she had the head of 25-year-old on her, she was very composed and knew exactly what she wanted.

“When she started she was very green and didn’t know anything and had to learn reservations and she took to it like a duck to water and I just knew she was going have what it takes.”

Ms Tayley said since moving up in the business from reservations to operations, she has learned a lot of new skills and learned a lot more about herself.

“Every day is different; you have to be a multitasker and always organised and on-the-ball, it takes a lot of thinking ahead to manage all the buses and drivers,” she said.

“Sometimes it has been a bit of a struggle to be harder and tough on the drivers and tell them what to do, that’s the one thing I am working on and I think I’m getting there.”

After five years on the job, Ms Tayley said she still loves every minute of it and can’t see herself moving on to a different job anytime soon.

“I would still love to be here in another five years and keep going higher,” she said.

“I have always wanted to stay in the area and Cheryl has been really great and always worked around my needs, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”