Introducing
Marion Doecke

Marion joined Lane Realty straight after high school in December 1991. This diminutive little dynamo quickly proved that not only did she have the requisite skills to run the front desk and the office accounting as her resume testified, she also proved that she had more common sense than most people twice her age. Marion proved to be a perfectionist in everything she turned her hand to and Helen has a very clear memory of her spending an entire day tracing 1 cent that had caused her then manually run Trust Account not to balance to the last cent as it has to do by law.

For five years Marion was the smiling face at Lane Realty’s reception desk. But she became much more than that. She became Helen’s friend and confidant who discussed and considered the tough questions whenever Helen needed a different viewpoint on any matter of concern. The vast difference in age did not in anyway interfere with Helen’s reliance on her wisdom. Helen’s trust in Marion was 100% and she rewarded Helen with 150%.

Amongst the bookkeeping and administrative duties Marion performed she also serviced the first two holiday houses that Lane Realty managed. These couple of holiday properties inspired Marion to learn more about the accommodation industry, so she undertook a Bachelor of Hotel Management through Griffith University and her working hours were adjusted to fit with the requirements of attending lectures. During the early years of her degree Marion was able to continue in her position with Lane Realty, but eventually, the time came when she was required to move to a hotel / motel environment to complete her studies.

Following her marriage to James and the completion of her degree, Marion headed to Darwin where she was employed by a large international hotel chain. For eighteen months she studied every aspect of hotel operations and management during a Corporate Traineeship.

Family called Marion and James back to Queensland where she became the Assistant Manager of a 4.5 star Brisbane hotel. The time then came when Marion decided a family was due, and she took 4 years off to spend with her two young children. In 2004 she returned to the workforce as the Night Auditor of a Gold Coast hotel.

Marion and Helen had never lost touch. From time to time the family came to visit the office and such visits were very emotional moments for Helen. In March 2006 Marion made a chance phone call to Helen and was very quickly offered the opportunity to streamline and develop Lane Realty’s holiday rental operations. Within a few months Marion had totally reorganised the reservation and record keeping system.

At the beginning of 2008 Marion’s younger child started school. Like so many young Mum’s, having both children at school gave her a few more hours in the day to devote to work. This allowed her to resume her original responsibility of Trust Account management while continuing to run the Holiday Rentals.

Marion always demonstrates her perfectionist trait in both aspects of her work along with dedication above and beyond the call of duty. She picks up and replies to e-mails on her Blackberry PDA, often starting at 5.30 a.m. and ending as late as 10.30 p.m.

An e-mail from Sarah S. sums up best how Marion approaches her work:

“Marion, Once again thanks for your help. You have done a great job (especially with all the emails back and forth) and you were always very helpful and informative. I would definitely recommend you to anyone wishing to rent a holiday house on Mt Tamborine.”