Chair Report
The month of June started off very exciting, with me attending the National BWA Strategy review in Johannesburg, where I met the most amazing women on our BWA leadership. The future of BWA is indeed a rosy one, with the organisation in the hands of such powerful and dynamic business people. I am looking forward to being a part of the changing, more visible face of the Businesswomen’s Association South Africa. I arrived back in East London on the 3rd of June, motivated, revived and filled with new ideas for my role as the new Chairperson of BWA East London branch.
Our monthly Networking Function on Wednesday the 9th June, was held at the Ideal Homes Complex and was very well-attended in spite of a cloud burst a few minutes before the event. The vibe was good and the “BUZZ session” was received very well by all. The evening started off at Gossip Coffee shop with some eats and coffee/tea and ended at Blenz Wine Boutique with a wide selection of lovely wines which saw some members leave way after my bed-time. The members enjoyed meandering through the nooks and crannies of the complex, where around each corner they were presented with a new surprise. There were numerous lucky draw prizes and the main prize of a Wing back chair was won by our very own committee member, Michelle Augustine. Our sponsors of the evening were, Ideal Home furnishers, Gossip Coffee shop, The Prancing Peacock, Perfumerite perfumes, Puzzle Mania and Mr Textbooks, Yeyethu Promotions and Blenz Wine Boutique. The EC Today newspaper was our media partner who covered the story. The proceeds of the evening went to the St Bernard’s Hospice.
The judging of our Regional Business Achievers Awards kicked-off a day before the official kick-off of the 2010 Fifa world cup, on the 10th June. The judging panel, consisting of successful business women and men, arrived very early at the BWA offices, and were well-prepared and eager to take on the task of the day. There were nominees in the following categories: Emerging entrepreneur Category, Entrepreneur Category, Corporate Category and Social Entrepreneur Category. After much deliberation, the judges came to their decision and the winners will be announced at our Regional Business Achievers Gala Dinner at the Regent Hotel on the 31st July 2010.
The Business breakfast which was to take place at the Osner Hotel and scheduled for the 17th of June, had to be postponed to a later date, due to the lack of a good response in time. The Industrial Development Corporation is the sponsor for this event, which would concentrate on Empowering Women in the business arena. We look forward to hearing their presentation.
See you all at the next networking event.
Kind regards
Lizelle Maurice
Coordinator Report
We at the BWA East London office would like to CONGRATULATE all the finalists in the 2010 RBAA award (please see website for 2010 finalists), this was a very tough decision but it had to be made. Thank you to the Judges, Xoliswa Tini, Wendy de Bruyn, Les Holbrook, Terry Taylor, Steve Haynes and John Smith for availing themselves for this task. There are so many outstanding businesswomen in our region and they deserve recognition.
The RBAA Gala dinner will take place on Saturday 31 July 2010 at the Regent Hotel with the internationally recognised group "THE AFRO TENORS" entertaining us on the evening. This event will be glamorous and prestige’s so do not miss out on this night at the BWA Oscars, book your seat now. This event has awarded so many phenomenal women over the years and who knows next year it could be you.
The BWA has been running a membership drive since April 2010 and this has increased our Border Kei Membership by 32 members so we are well on our way to reaching our target membership by the end of 2010.
Keep well, keep warm and look forward to seeing you at the next BWA function.
Bianca Sommerfield