Ron “Rowdy” McLean inspired the students and staff with his four main rules on life. Own your attitude, take responsibility for your choices, always do what you say you will and stick at it.

Rowdy attended the school beginning in Kindergarten in 1967 when the school was still located in Bradley St. He has fond memories of Red Rover Cross Over, playing insane hopscotch matches and doing classes in the old CWA hall and then the move to the new school near the show ground which was ‘pretty cool’. 

“It had everything that opened and shut and an enormous quadrangle for the daily handball championship,” Rowdy recalled 

During his time at the school he played pretty much every possible sport and represented the school at athletics, rugby league, tennis, soccer, volleyball, basketball, cricket and you name it - he played it.

Rowdy completed Year 10 at Guyra Central School and left Guyra in 1977 when he was 15 to go to college with Telstra in Sydney; a pretty big move at the time but fairly insignificant today.

At 24, he started his own Communications Company, and retired just 10 years later. He played professional sport, ran marathons, climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, kayaked through the freezing waters of Antarctica and tracked gorillas in Rwanda. 

Rowdy loves a challenge; he loves the games of business, motivation and leadership. He loves to challenge others to achieve more, be more, do more and have more than they ever thought possible.

Possessing a steely determination to succeed, he works with the world’s top companies helping them understand the key drivers of success, achievement and outstanding results. Changing attitudes, inspiring the excellence and getting ‘stuff’ done are the things he does best.

He has appeared on the Today Show, Ten morning news, Sky business news and is a regular guest on 2SM and 4BC. He writes regularly for newspapers and magazines such as CEO magazine, Mybusiness magazine and many others.

He is the author of a book called “Play a Bigger Game” which is his life’s story. Walking the talk, always doing what you say you’re going to do and not accepting the status quo has seen him achieve some amazing things. It has been published in seven countries including China and Saudi Arabia.

His final words of advice for the current students at Guyra Central School were that in this wonderful world that we live in ‘you can achieve anything’.

“Most people give up when success is just around the corner,” he said. “If you can think it, feel it, close your eyes and imagine it – you can do it.”