Colleagues and friends gathered in Christchurch last week for the retirement party of Jeremy Bliss, one of the true sales personalities of the industry, who has been Oratia's South Island sales representative for the past four years.
Guests at the event on Friday 4 December calculated that the group represented some 925 years of service to bookselling and publishing.
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| Jeremy Bliss (centre) with long-term colleagues and fellow Oratia Books reps Dennis Morgan (left) and Gary Shannon (right) |
Jeremy himself started his book career in the Oxford University Press warehouse 43 years ago, before taking to the road as a sales rep for them.
Stints with Beckett Books and Hodder Moa Stoughton (as sales manager) followed and in recent years he’s handled South Island sales for Oratia, Blue Duck, Halcyon, Neil Hyndman, Thames and Hudson and others.
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| Jeremy (centre, with cap) surrounded by colleagues, family and friends |
There was many a memory and escapade shared at the lively event, for which guests had travelled from as far afield as Nelson, Motueka and Auckland (notably our sales & marketing consultant Belinda Cooke).
Our sincere thanks to Jeremy for his able representation of the Oratia Books list in the South Island, and best wishes for retirement.
