Bon Voyage again

09 July 2012

The Riley boys: Bruce, Dan and Duncan.   Retirement and Dan Riley? The words never seemed to go hand in hand, and when at the end of last year Dan from DWR Distribution asked for an extended vacation with the possibility of retirement, some of us thought and hoped, he’d be back in three months time. Six months later with clients still phoning in to speak to him, we’ve finally realized that one of our favourite people is not coming back to the office.  

A friend to all, Dan Riley has been in the industry for over 30 years and was one of the first people in South Africa to offer sales and support for “Rank Strand” as it was known. He has been involved with a list of prominent theatre installations and the owners of many rental companies purchased their very first lighting equipment from him.

Dan, as most know, is the father of Duncan and Bruce Riley, who have followed in his footsteps, working in the same industry as he did, and more importantly, learning from him how to have great people skills. Dan has walked his road with ethics, has always been supportive to others and no one can deny his great sense of humour.

Three years ago Dan joined DWR Distribution in sales. He was instrumental with dealing with theatres and played a huge roll when it came to securing tenders for installations, such as The Playhouse Company, The Atterbury Theatre and the Baxter Theatre and The Sandton Protea Court, to mention a few highlights.

Wonderful and exciting times await the Rileys and while DWR Distribution wishes them every happiness, please know Dan, that we miss you. It was a privilege for us to work with you and we appreciate everything you did and meant to us.

Celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this September, Dan and Linda have enjoyed every moment of retirement. Their adventure this year alone has seen them holidaying in the Cape, spending a couple of weeks in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve, enjoying a relaxing time at Badplaas-Resort and visiting KwaZulu Natal. In September, they plan to visit Israel, which will be something special for them both.

To see some of the highlights of Dan Riley’s career, please see the write-up on Industry Legends: https://www.dwrdistribution.co.za/industry2.asp?filename=2032008101239.txt