BUSINESS: Syd McGill, Realtor with Realty Executives In Action
AGE: 78
BACKGROUND: I came to Pahrump in ’93 to retire and sold my businesses and moved to Pahrump to be a snowbird. After two years, Sharon Walls and Bob Little confronted me after a Rotary meeting and said what are you doing? They said what do you really do? I said I get up in the morning, read the paper and wait for The Price is Right to come on. That was 16 years ago. They convinced me to get a real estate license.
FIRST JOB: My first job was delivering newspapers for the Santa Monica Evening Outlook. I was 14 years old. I had a bicycle and folded newspapers after school and delivered it.
YEARS IN BUSINESS: I was 35 years old when I bought my first property so I’ve been in my own business, in the funeral industry. Before that I was a salesman for Address A Graph Multi-graph Corporation. That was sold. We had metal plates that had the business name. Before that, I worked in a steel mill, odd jobs from 14 years old to that time. Basically I’ve been in the funeral industry, I had my own from the time I was 35, but I was probably 26 when I went into the industry. I was known in Rotary in Bend, Oregon as the biggest subdivider in the county.
PERSONAL: I restore old Cushman motor scooters, that’s my hobby. Actually, I’m not restoring any currently, the problem is I really started this hobby in order to have a scooter for me and for Marilyn to drive in the parades. I just have them in storage. I’m down to four now. I had 21 at one time. I’ve been in Rotary for 46 years.
BUSINESS CLIMATE: I’m encouraged by the attitude of county planners now that they’re opening up to us inviting businesses into the community … It looks like the climate is better now than it has been in some time to inviting small businesses to our community. We got in the last six months to actually making a living again.