MICKEY Clark was born in the Black Hills of South Dakota in the United States, lived in Dallas, Boston, and Tokyo, prior to moving to Sydney with his wife, Elena, three kids and pets in 1992, and has lived in Yackandandah for nine years.

What do you do workwise?

I am an advisor for small business owners — my company is called OutsiderMD. I help owners grow their businesses and solve the thorny business problems that keep them up at night.

What brought you to your role/career?

I founded and ran an e-learning business in Sydney for 17 years, The Learning Group, and discovered that I loved working with a great team of dedicated (and fun) employees. When I sold the company in 2009, this love quickly converted into helping business owners make better workplaces for their employees. I still get to work with great teams, but I don’t have to pay them!

What do you love about your work?

I truly love helping people solve difficult problems. I get a tremendous amount of joy in helping people reduce the noise in their heads, isolate the most important issues and find a solution that works for them.

What do you do in the community?

For me, Yackandandah is an interesting model of an “involved” town – high participation, high volunteerism. I’ve recently joined the board of Yackandandah Community Development Company (YCDCo), a very innovative community owned business. YCDCo runs our local petrol/hardware/farm supplies business, puts out our wonderful local newspaper (The Yackity Yak), and provides grants to local community projects. I help the Yackandandah Bowling Club with their financial systems, and I spend my spare time keeping certain local riders in line for the local mountain biking club, Yack Tracks. I believe strongly in supporting local business. This may be a cliché, but I love giving something back to this amazing community, which has been so good to us.

Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing?

Health services. As a community, we are currently trying to transition Yackandandah Health — GP services, residential aged care, and childcare — to a more sustainable financial footing, and a considerable amount of work has gone into finding a solution that will work for us long term.

What do you see as one of the most important current world issues?

It may not be the most important issue, but I’m very concerned about how easy it is to spread disinformation and fake news on today’s media platforms. I have friends, who I care about deeply, but who have fallen into rabbit holes of disinformation, and I don’t know how to get them out.

If the person you would most like to meet came to Indigo Shire (past or present), or was already here, who would that be, what would you show them, and why?

I would like to bring my father, Bill, who is 95 years old and lives in Dallas, back to Yackandandah. He’s been here several times many years ago, and, having grown up on a farm in South Dakota, he loves the town and the friendliness of the residents. I’m actively trying to make this happen now.

What book are you reading?

I’m (re-)reading my favourite author, Cormac McCarthy’s “All the Pretty Horses.” Sadly, he passed away this past week.