167 - Terry Aronson - Treasurer - Coorparoo RSL

Arete Podcast with Richard Triggs

It’s very hard to sum up the career and life of Terry Aronson… what hasn’t this man done? Starting out in Sydney with his own highly successful construction company, Terry made the decision to go to the US to broaden his horizons. Despite his success in business, the US authorities would only issue him with a green card if he had a skill that was more unique than running a business. Luckily for Terry, he proved himself as an Olympic-standard shooter and beat the two best Olympians in the US! Having established himself in the US, Terry embarked upon an esteemed career in business, the military and not-for-profit sector, and while he was at it, he won 17 national shooting titles. It was truly inspiring to hear of his work coordinating response operations for major disasters across America, and how one of his charities revived a failing school. Terry’s sterling work led to him being assigned a tour of duty in the Pentagon for an almost-unprecedented five years. Now Terry is back home in Australia, keeping himself busy as treasurer of Coorparoo RSL and as a technological innovator with multiple patents. We had a very interesting conversation about Terry’s ambitions to broaden the scope of the RSL to become an even more inclusive organisation, and we also discuss the highlights of his incredible journey in the US. In this episode you will learn: -How Terry started a construction company at 19 and made a success of it -Terry’s grand entrance to the US, where he managed to obtain a green card by becoming an Olympic-standard shooter -How Terry’s military background helped him in business -Why Terry needed to leave Sydney to pursue his dreams -Why Terry thinks that leadership is interchangeable across specialisms and countries -How Terry balanced military service with business -How Terry coped with co-ordinating the first-response operations for hurricanes in San Francisco and Florida -How Terry’s Australian accent helped get him noticed and build rapport -The level of influence of Paul Hogan/Crocodile Dundee in the US -How the death of his uncle inspired him to volunteer in the not-for-profit sector -What made Terry come back to Australia -How Coorparoo RSL serves the wider community beyond ex-servicepeople -What Terry is doing to improve female participation in the RSL -The ethical and moral framework of the military, and how this helps get things done in a civilian context Useful Links: https://www.areteexecutive.com.au/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs/