Back in November 2013, Finance Director Sandy Clare offered Charlie Williams a job as a Gas Engineer as part of the exciting expansion of the gas maintenance team in Inverclyde. Over the next 13 or so years, Charlie consistently demonstrated a highly professional and versatile approach to his work. Last week, Charlie decided to retire and finally call time on an illustrious career with James Frew.
Like many young men from Inverclyde in the 70s and 80s, Charlie started work in the shipyards as a Draftsman, a job that took him all the way from Greenock to the French Quarter in New Orleans, and back again. Following some retraining at British Gas in commercial and domestic gas installation and maintenance, Charlie joined James Frew working in Inverclyde with Contracts Manager Neill Hamilton and split his time as a Repair Engineer, Auditor and Mentor to his fellow engineers and apprentices.
Looking back on his time at James Frew Charlie said: “What I’ll remember most isn’t the heating systems I worked on, or the faults I chased down, it’s the trust, teamwork, and good humour I found every day. Being the person you called when something wasn’t heating, clicking, leaking, or making that “strange noise it definitely wasn’t making yesterday” has been a role I’ve genuinely valued. I’ve always taken pride in helping to keep things running, even if some boilers seemed determined to test my patience, and my vocabulary!”
Area Manager Alan McKeegan said: “It has been an absolute pleasure working with Charlie, his passion and commitment to improving the capabilities of engineers and apprentices alike has been an inspiration. His knowledge of the industry including commercial gas is second to none. Charlie leaves an indelible legacy on the people who have benefited, over the years, from his skills, knowledge and experience.”
Charlie added: I’ve spent a good part of my time mentoring the younger, less experienced members of the gas team, which basically means I’ve repeated the phrase “Don’t worry, we’ve all done that!” more times than I can count. And honestly, watching everyone grow in confidence and take on more responsibility has been one of the best parts of the job”.
Roddy Frew said: “Charlie has been the go-to gas guy in Inverclyde for all things domestic and commercial and his contribution to the success of the team working out of the Greenock office not only speaks volumes, but speaks for itself.
I wish Charlie many years of happy retirement as he now has more to spend with his family, grace the fairways of Gourock GC, and watch his beloved Morton FC”.
