After a multitude of jobs and travels that took him all over the
world, the Free Lance’s new advertising representative is ready to
settle back down to his roots.
Tom O’Connor, who was born and raised in Hollister, attended
Gavilan Junior College and then received his bachelor’s degree in
physical education from California State University, Sonoma.
After graduation, he joined the Peace Corps and was stationed in
the Central African Republic as a basketball coach.
After a multitude of jobs and travels that took him all over the world, the Free Lance’s new advertising representative is ready to settle back down to his roots.
Tom O’Connor, who was born and raised in Hollister, attended Gavilan Junior College and then received his bachelor’s degree in physical education from California State University, Sonoma.
After graduation, he joined the Peace Corps and was stationed in the Central African Republic as a basketball coach. Unfortunately, the experience wasn’t what he had expected and he decided to come back to the states after three months.
When he came home, he attended California State University, Chico, and received his teaching credential. Finding it tough to find a full-time teaching job, he went to travel school and became a corporate travel agent in the Santa Clara and San Jose area.
From the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, O’Connor skirted between the travel industry and the high-tech industry, working on the first Apple Macintosh and the first IBM X-T when they came out.
About three and a half years ago he moved back to Hollister, this time for good, and worked for Gilroy Foods in network systems support.
When they laid off a significant portion of employees in January of this year, O’Connor began hunting for a new line of work.
An ad directed him to the Free Lance and Vice President of Advertising, Andy Bruns.
“(Andy) sold me on the program that’s being enacted here, and my vacation was over,” O’Connor said. “It’s great to be back in the community. I recognize a lot of faces from the past, and I’m meeting new people.”
While much of O’Connor’s training background involves computers, many of his computer jobs involved sales, which gave him the background he needed for the advertising position.
And after living in places like Santa Clara and San Jose for years, being back in scenic San Benito County, along with the fact that he can walk to work, brings with it great satisfaction.
“This has to be the last stop – unless I win the lottery,” he said. “My goal is to build long term relationships with our customers and identify their needs. I want to be in it for the long run with them.”
