'5 minutes with'........Kieran Rice

Feature in Professional Recovery magazine

In this edition you are invited to spend ‘5 minutes with..... Kieran Rice FIVR of A1 Marsden Recovery, Northern Ireland

Kieran was appointed to the IVR Council in March 2011.

How long have you been involved in the recovery industry?

I’ve been in the recovery industry 24 years and a trainer since 2002.

When was the best time to be involved with the recovery industry?

They are all good years; you have to take the good with the bad. The last few years are getting harder with the Clubs paying less and the Government taxing the life out of everything.

What part of your job do you most enjoy?

I enjoy all aspects of recovery particularly the training. I feel I’m putting something back into the industry and if what I teach prevents someone from getting injured that’s job satisfaction.

What part of your job do you find most difficult?

Getting paid!

Also getting the true recognition for what we do as recovery operators. For instance during the bad weather last winter all we heard was how the emergency services did a fantastic job in dealing with X Y & Z and how the electricity engineers had to deal with situations in extreme weather conditions. What about the recovery operators up and down the country keeping the transport & road network rolling!

What is the best piece of advice you were ever given?

There are two pieces of advice that come to mind.

The first came from Dave McAllister when he said “Extreme circumstances will require extreme measures”.

The second, from Nick Ovenden, was “Never Assume” that came from Nick’s Dad, Jack Ovenden, sadly I never got to meet him.

If you could have worked in a totally different field, what would it have been? Stacking shelves in a supermarket! Well paid, less hours, and have a set start and finish time.

What do you listen to while driving?

Anything except head banging heavy metal.

What’s made you proud?

Receiving my Fellowship at the IVR in 2005

Where is your favourite holiday destination?

There have been many holiday destinations. Diving in the Great Barrier Reef, hot air ballooning over the Nile, Jeep Safari through the rain forest and taking a husky team across a glacier in Alaska.

The one that sticks in my mind was an island in the Caribbean called Labadee, white sand and palm trees nothing else - fantastic place.

Do you have any hobbies?

Motorcycling and walking, when I get the time.

What do you drive?

I have a Ducati 996 but I rarely get it out. Most of the time I drive around in the works Jeep, a Nissan Pathfinder, or Linda’s Jeep BMW X6.

What is your favourite food?

I am easy pleased when it comes to food; I think the staple diet in the recovery industry is bread and jam or toast.

I enjoy every type of food, it would be easier to say I don’t like - mustard and mushrooms and I am not a big fan of seafood.

What would be the first thing you would do if you won the lottery?

P*ss a lot of people off for a start, then go shopping or maybe the other way round shopping first.  I don’t mean High Street shopping I mean shopping at the recovery manufacturers........ ‘I will have one of each!’