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NORTH CAROLINA (WGHP) — Just about the time most people look to retire, Dick Barnes began his career. Well, his second career.
His first was back in his home state of Indiana, where he worked in sales for a company called, Sun Metal, a company that made things like bicycle wheel rims and household items.
“It was the chance of a lifetime for me, because I grew up there,” Barnes said of Sun, the company at which he spent nearly three decades.
When he started there “they had no accounting system. This was a small company; they had 450,000 in sales. I wanted to go in and have an impact. When I left, we went from 450,000 in sales to 32 million.”
It was while he was at Sun that he began to be intrigued by real estate so, at age 73 and living in North Carolina, he thought he’d start that career. Now, having celebrated his 90th birthday in March, he’s selling homes for Realty One, owned by Jessica and Eric Munger. It’s work that is ideal for someone who is — how shall we say — a little more experienced.
“I think it does work well for someone in retirement because it’s such a flexible schedule,” said Eric Munger. “You can work at your own pace and own schedule so I think it works for a lot of ages, people, backgrounds.”
“I think age is just a number and no matter if you are young or old you should be given a chance,” Jessica Munger added.
Barnes feels as if he’s holding his own, working eight hours a day.
“As long as you zero in on something, do it a good job at it, that’s what I think you are asked for,” Barnes said.
But there are things in his life that are making him begin to see his age — but it’s not his own stamina.
“That’s when you realize that you are getting into age when your oldest child is retirement age and he will be there in August,” Barnes said with a laugh.
See Dick Barnes in action in this edition of the Buckley Report.
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