Mr Herrick formed the company in 2002 after five years of establishment work and building a network. 

Although Mr Herrick will be staying in the area, he said it was time for him to go and explore other opportunities. 

“I’m retiring from Southern Phone but who knows what the future will bring,” he said.

“It’s just time, it’s been 17 years of my life and life is only so long.

“You have to keep your mind active, I’ll probably end up contributing back to the community though.”

Mr Herrick said the biggest highlight during his time at Southern Phone was “seeing kids that I watched grow up from nappies get a job here”. 

“Another thing that always jumps to mind is how extraordinary it is that something like this exists in a small town,” Mr Herrick said. 

Although he said he did not view hurdles as being a problem, Mr Herrick said dealing with third party providers was one of the hardest parts of the business.

“You may have obstacles but you just work your way around them,” Mr Herrick said.

For the 144 months that Mr Herrick was managing director, he said the business had seen positive growth. 

“We are the second largest home phone provider in regional Australia,” he said. 

Employment has been one of the major achievements for the business. 

“When we started Moruya had a 36 per cent unemployment rate, and now look at it, it’s a good town,” Mr Herrick said.  

Mr Herrick will celebrate retirement by going on a holiday to South America for six weeks. 

Southern Phone board chairman Bill Hilzinger said he tried to con Mr Herrick into staying longer, but failed. 

“I think the urge for him to go to South America got too great,” Mr Hilzinger said.