New CEO for Billy

By Tania Martin
PUFFING Billy Tourist Railway Board last week fairwelled chief executive officer Ray Leivers while welcoming aboard his replacement, Andrew Stephens.
After three-and-a-half years, Ray Leivers has retired from Puffing Billy and is looking forward to spending more time with his family, especially his grandchildren.
Board chairman Graeme Breydon last week spoke about the positive impact Mr Leivers had on Puffing Billy.
“Ray Leivers was our first CEO and I can not emphasise too strongly the positive impact Ray has had on our operation,” Mr Breydon said.
Mr Leivers said the highlight of his time at Puffing Billy was witnessing the positive attitude and professionalism displayed by all the volunteers.
Before working at Puffing Billy, Mr Leivers worked at several jobs in the tourism industry, including managing the Phillip Island Nature Park and managing a ski resort in Falls Creek.
Mr Leivers is planning a holiday in the Flinders Ranges in March, and hopes to catch up on some maintenance work around his family home.
Taking over the reins, Mr Stephens said he was impressed by the positive attitude many of the volunteers and staff at Puffing Billy had displayed.
Mr Stephen previously worked in business development with CityRail, which operates Sydney’s suburban train system and also in economic development with LaTrobe City Council in Gippsland.
Mr Breydon said that Mr Stephens also has a wealth of experience in the community sector, as one of the founder of the Walhalla Goldfields Railway, as the president of the Walhall Heritage and Development League and secretary of Walhall and Mountain Rivers Tourism.
Excited by his appointment to CEO of Puffing Billy, Mr Stephens has already moved to Olinda and said he intends to become an active member of the Dandenongs community.
Mr Stephens also has a previous association with the railway as he joined the Puffing Billy Preservation Society in 1963 and working as a ‘lolly boy’ on the platforms and the train and later as a volunteer in the railway’s carriage workshop at Emerald.
Mr Leivers said he has enjoyed his time at Puffing Billy and hopes that Mr Stephens does well in his new position as CEO and that the railway continues to flourish.