Townends Chartered Accounts receptionist Val Holt has retired, following over 31 years with the business.
A familiar face to anyone paying a morning visit to Townends’ Goole office, Val joined Townends in a part-time role on 3rd September 1987, having previously worked for the Electricity Board before a redundancy and time off following the arrival of her son and daughter.
Val says, “The flexibility of the role at Townends meant I could take my children to school each morning and pick them up at the end of the day. My parents had also moved to Goole so they could help me with things like school holidays.”
Now a grandmother herself, Val is looking forward to spending some of her retirement helping to take care of her two grandchildren, including school runs and school holidays, much like her parents helped her.
Regarding her years at Townends, she says, “I’m a bit of a chatterbox and I enjoy talking to people as they come in and getting to know them. I’ve seen faces come and faces go as the company expanded over the years and took on new projects. I’ve made some friends for life, including one colleague who I worked on reception with for over ten years before her retirement.”
Val has no plans to slow down once she retires and has already booked a number of once in a lifetime trips to commemorate the end of her time at Townends. These include India’s Golden Triangle in November, the Norwegian Fjords in August and a much-anticipated trip to the Keukenhof Gardens in Holland next month to take in the displays of tulips and daffodils.
