“There’s a nice feel to the office. Everyone gets on. It doesn’t feel like 25 years. The job has always been interesting,” she said.
However she has seen a number of changes over the years. When she joined the then J.H. Palmer & Sons in 1991 working for the senior partner, typewriters were the order of the day rather than computers, and mobile phones resembled house bricks! There was no email and fax machines were the norm.
Marion used to attend the weekly Monday livestock market at Highbridge. Tuesdays were devoted to typing up the market reports. The market closed in 2007 and along with Taunton market moved to purpose built premises at Sedgemoor Auction Centre beside Junction 24 of the M5 at North Petherton.
Now Marion works at Sedgemoor Auction Centre every other Saturday – the busiest market day, and still sees many of the farmers who were regulars at Highbridge market.
“I enjoy going to the market. It’s something completely different,” she said.
Jeremy Bell, Partner in charge at the Burnham office, said: “On behalf of the partnership, I would like to recognise Marion Stewart, who has worked as a fulltime PA and secretary in my office here at Burnham, for a quarter of a century. The partners, and I in particular, very much appreciate the hard work she has put in over the years. Marion is a fountain of knowledge on many aspects of the agricultural side of the business and is a key member of the Burnham team.”
