Past Events
All you need to know about the retail world
8 November 2005
Pick n Pay Family Store, Times Square
Review by: Gillian Cunningham, Fairfield Corporate Ventures (Pty) Ltd
Pick n Pay Times Square opened their doors and their hearts to BWA members. Our 2? hour tour kicked off with a welcome song sung by staff members of the Bakery & Deli.
Our hosts Sonja & Kazik Szczawinski, then went on to explain behind the scenes with a brief rundown on the logistical & financial side of business.
Donning plastic aprons & scrub caps (hygiene is of utmost importance) we began our walking tour in the immaculately clean butchery. Lucas and his team proceeded to demonstrate mince-meat and boerewors making. Next on to the bakery where Mlunsingi and his team explained the mechanics of bread making while Pamela showed us how she creates the confectioneries. Cecelia then introduced us to the Deli staff and told us about the menu selection and the importance of serving fresh food.
The tour ended off with tea & coffee and delicious eats served in the receiving yard. Walking around the store you can feel the enthusiasm, dedication and loyalty of the staff, which filters down from the owners and managers. Pick n Pay, Times Square truly epitomises a 'Family Store'.
Thank you to Sonja, Kazik and all the Pick n Pay Staff members for a fabulous morning.
Image in the Work Place
11 October 2005
The Paragon, PE
Review by: Katherine Zenios, Re/Max
How low should my neckline be? Is my skirt to short for work? Why do my clothes always crease? What are the basics I need to do for that fresh faced look and how do I cover up those dark rings under my eyes?
These are just a few of the many questions that were answered for the members of the BWA in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday night. Image in the workplace is often a contentious issue, especially for women who need to project a professional image, feel relaxed and comfortable in their clothes and be versatile and smart enough to leave work and go straight to an evening function.
Sue Matthews and her Team from Smat Clothing introduced us to their versatile and crease free range of corporate wear that requires no ironing (every woman?s dream). The range is interchangeable and stylish, perfect for women who travel and great for corporate uniforms. With a wide variety of styles, Sue?s range is suitable for all figure types and with remarkable turnaround times, order to delivery is a mere 48 hours.
Our next speaker was Theanor Zenios. She is a qualified make-up artist and beautician, with a B Com to boot, and is currently a full time make-over artist for Picture Perfect. She does private make-up for a broad base of clients and also gives lessons. She gently reminded us all that a good canvas is essential for good art and reminded us about the importance of daily skin care. She then gave us the basics of make-up application and rounded off by arming us with those all important tips for hiding the little imperfections that we all have.
We then took a break a indulged in fabulous cheese and wine, which was supplied by Lazinda McLeod from The Cheesehouse. With her diverse range of cheeses filling our tummies and a glass of wine in hand we took our seats for our final and highly esteemed guest speaker, Karel Leerink from Truworths. He not only currently dresses the idols that we all watch weekly but also travels around the country doing presentations for Oprah and Shape magazines (all this while running the local stores with style and charm). He ran through the "basic wardrobe" and amidst must giggling and commenting from us all, reminded us that we should aspire to wear clothing that fits well and not be so concerned about the size on the label (cut the label out!). He showed us how to mix and match our wardrobe and how to turn a work outfit into stylish evening wear with mere accessories. He also introduced us to the latest summer trends.
This was a fun filled event, great networking experience and reminded us all of the importance of our image in the work place.
Take Control the Natural Way
25 August 2005
PE St. Georges Club
Review by: Dr Gillian Nutt DO (Aus), Natural Health Practitioner
Gillian is an osteopath, speaker and runs workshops on Shiatsu and dietary advice.
It?s amazing how even the best laid plans sometimes all go wrong, but despite them going wrong, there is always an up side to it. Mary Ann could not get her PowerPoint pictures to give the right colour - the up side was that we got to have purple strawberries and green carrots... However, none of this detracted from a wonderful talk by Mary Ann. Even I felt a bit guilty eating my dessert after Mary Ann told us how bad sugar is for us. Many people react badly to sugar, she said as it gives them a high and causes hyperactive behaviour, to say nothing of low blood pressure and hypoglyceamia.
Maybe the sales of depressive drugs such as Ritilin would drop if kids were sent to school on a plate of porridge instead of things like coco pops. Mary Anne stressed the importance of eating fruit and veggies instead of the sugary snacks which are so convenient. She said that we should eat a lot of raw fruit and veggies every day. She also talked about the importance of essential fatty acids found in foods such as avocados.
EFA's are important for the functioning of our hormonal systems and in fact most of the systems of the body are based on hormones of one type or another. Hormones are not only responsible for our reproductive systems, they control sugar metabolism, kidney function, the nervous system and practically every other system in the body. She said that we also need seeds and the oils found in them such as flax seeds and cold pressed oils such as olive oil.
Green veggies such as broccoli and lettuce are full of chlorophyll and anti- ancer properties. She said we should buy organic as much as possible and to keep asking the stores for organic foods. The more we buy the more they will get the message that we want healthy food. I'm sure that everyone enjoyed the evening and are looking forward to following some of her good advice. The evening ended with lots of lucky draw prizes being given away.
QUICK CONNECTIONS - Networking
14 July 2005
Purcells Family Restaurant, Walmer Park Mall
Review by Vicky Nickisson, West Fund Marketing Manager, Business Partners Ltd
The Quick Connections function was fabulous! I made so many new contacts and from the networking got 3 sales leads (which we?ve already followed up on) and 1 invitation to do a presentation to a group of SME?s. From 1 networking opportunity - I?m very impressed.
Considering the amount of noise we made, I?m certain that there were more members who had a valuable experience. I am always on the hunt for new contacts and believe that word of mouth marketing is more powerful than any other medium. But it is only as powerful as your relationships with your network.
This has been the most successful networking event I?ve attended - my measurement is obviously based on the number of leads I generate from the interaction ? I will definitely be there again!
They are doing a wonderful job and I take my hat off to Anita, Jane and Pat for the amount of time and effort they?re putting in to make this work. Big thank you!
Who is BWA?
7 July 2005
Vodacom Boardroom, Cape Road
Review by Yoland? de Vos (B Juris, LLB, CFP), PSG Konsult Algoa
As an existing BWA member, I was asked by a new member (whom I introduced to the BWA) to accompany her to the introductory function held at the Vodacom Boardroom. The event was titled "Who is BWA" and even though I have been a member for two years already, I found it very informative.
Jane Stevenson highlighted who the committee members are and what their respective portfolios entail. As always the atmosphere was light and there was certainly a vibe among the women who attended. Jane re-enforced what the ultimate purpose of the BWA is: to provide a platform for members to network with other businesswomen. This has been very valuable to me over the last two years.
Afterwards, we were treated to soup and rolls, compliments of Carol Hall from Vodacom, just the right thing on a chilly winter's evening and we were given the opportunity to do what women do best: mingle with our fellow ladies who are making a go of it in the business world!
As always I left the function inspired and ready to face the world out there.
HOW TO BEE COMPLIANT
12 May 2005
8a St. Aidans Guest House, Grahamstown
Review by: Rosanne Buchanan
Jane Stevenson, Mandy Myers, Wim Steyn, Portia Nondo & Daphne Timm
Forty local businesswomen were glued to their seats at last week?s Businesswomen?s Association luncheon. Nedcor?s Portia Nondo and Joburg consultant Wim Steyn, were here to talk to businesses about getting their ducks in a row when it comes to Black Economic Empowerment in the workplace. Apparently the two most spoken words on television since January this year are "Tsunami" and "BEE".
For the speakers, Grahamstown was the end of the road for a week-long Nedbank road show to promote and shake up business compliance with BEE codes of practice. The room was hushed as the 99 % white audience listened to the impact of the legislation, the Black Economic Empowerment Act, and the rollout of new industry charters that will affect all areas of business. The bottom line is that you can expect to see or read the words: Are you BEE compliant? ,before a deal is made in the not-too-distant future.
One PE businesswoman, an owner-driven consulting firm, said she had already encountered a rejection based on the fact that she was not complying with BEE requirements. It?s the buzzword in the business world out there but it is also a very structured government strategy that will inevitably filter down to the small businesses and entrepreneurial level too. Speaker Portia Nondo made no bones about it. "Businesses who do not take BEE seriously will not be sustainable in 5 - 10 years' time".
Don't be alarmed though, her advice is clear: "Get well informed, find out what you should be doing and what you can realistically do to meet the objectives." Basically, it is about the government increasing black industry ownership and control and increasing the number of black enterprises. Portia said by inviting black partners into your business you would be buying into a future that would foster growth with a reward scheme. Speaker Wim Steyn said government had seen through black empowerment "window dressing" and were now demanding true empowerment at ownership and executive level.
By issuing industry charters, there are certain stipulations and requirements that have to be met. For large corporations there is the equity side of things. A percentage of the company has to be bought or split to allow for a black partner. The government has issued a BEE scorecard which is a lot more complicated than a simple "Okay, you're compliant so off you go". It?s a scorecard broken down into four themes with seven elements, each with a different weighting. So it gets complicated as companies will be rated by an outside rating agency. The target date for implementation is 2014.
This sort of thing does not happen overnight. It?s been a gradual process on the part of government too. Between 1994 and 2002 three acts were passed; Employment Equity, Skills Development and Preferential Procurement, 2002 to 2005 various charters were released which are more specific and since then President Mbeki has signed a broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Act. In December last year the Department of Trade and Industry released a code of good practice. If you think it doesn?t affect you then consider the recent draft Tourism Charter released in the last few weeks.
Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk was quoted as saying: "The charter will apply to every enterprise in the tourism value chain, from the largest companies to the smallest entrepreneur". The charter has seven broad indicators including ownership, strategic management, employment equity, skills development, preferential procurement, enterprise development and social development.
Van Schalkwyk was quoted at Durban's Indaba 2005 as saying a survey done in 2003 showed that there was an average of only 6% BEE ownership in the tourism industry. The new charter states that black ownership of the tourism industry should be 30% by 2014. If you're a B&B or small tourism business owner, note that the charter will exclude businesses with a turnover of less than R5million but the six other empowerment targets will still apply. A code of good practice for SMMEs is currently under revision. "These expectations will be more lenient," said Portia.
At the end of the presentation, there were nods of agreement when Pam Golding's Colleen Rippon stood up and said: "At first I thought you had come to the wrong place? but we can?t be ostriches with our heads in the sand; it?s time to catch a wake up." The message is clear that government will not buy anything from or award a tender to any company that is not BEE compliant. That company will in turn not work with any supplier that is not BEE compliant. And that?s not all; companies that are BEE compliant will score points on the scorecard for dealing with BEE compliant suppliers.
And so it filters down. It's a very intricate issue and speaker Wim Steyn said he normally spent at least a day workshopping the ins and outs of BEE. For more information, try visiting the DTI website, or make contact with Wim 083 447 4383 or wim.steyn@empowerlogic.co.za
12 May 2005
Sahara Oval, PE Cricket Club
Review by Cheryl Wasserman, BreatheTex Corporation
Patricia McNair, Wim Steyn, Jane Stevenson, Portia Nondo, Mandy Myers & Steve MacDonald
"If you don?t comply with the BEE requirements in business today, you won?t go to jail, you may not even be fined, but you WILL lose business..."
This comment is so true, as I?m sure many of us have experienced in business. Attending the latest BWA presentation on "How to be BEE Compliant" was incredibly informative and helpful. Portia Nondo of Nedbank's BEE Unit presented useful information on the how and why of BEE and Wim Steyn of EmpowerLogic gave us an incredibly interesting and informative overview of the legalities around BEE and how government is implementing the BEE strategy.
I have certainly walked away from the evening with new knowledge on the topic and with valuable sources of information for future use. Keep up the good work BWA Port Elizabeth!
Mohair Fashion Show Event
23 February 2005
Tsitsikamma Conference Centre, the Boardwalk
Review by Santa Zeiss, Brochure Management EC
I arrived fairly early for an exciting evening at the most glamorous venue?Port Elizabeth has to offer. The guests arrived, smiling, waving at friends and people they knew; everyone was there, a great vibe. Michelle had everyone's attention as she introduced the evening with the professionalism and humour that we have gotten to know so well.
Anton Randall, well what can one say - he is truly brilliant. The fashion shown was elegant, presenting definitely wearable, coupled with the most stunning models, who had the audience eating out of their hands. Speaking of eating, the food served, was appropriate, light and very tasty, add to that, great service.
The Trophies presented to the Breeders gave the?guests?a chance to meet the people behind the scene who produce the highest quality Mohair.
The event was co-hosted by BWA and Jane Stevenson presented a very informative, short speech on BWA, a perfect forum, in her beautiful spoken?manner. All in all a not to be missed event - see you there next year.
Black Economic Empowerment
25 January 2005
Club 39, 39 Church Road, Walmer PE
Review by Nina Bond, Nina Bond Optometrists
Black Economic Empowerment is a buzz word in our society at the moment, so I was?very pleased to see that our BWA?had organised an event for us to learn more about this important subject.? Even better, it was our president, Dr Namane Magau, who was going to present.? This was a real chance to come face to face with Dr Magau and to hear someone so qualified in this field to give us more information.
Her presentation was very enlightening and?encouraging?for women in business and in fact women in general.? The figures given for women in?top posts in the country were shocking to say the least, but it was reassuring to know that South Africa is not too far behind the rest of the world in this regard and that these figures should be improving in the near future.?
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Having?the gentleman from Empowerdex was also a bonus.? It was just unfortunate that his presentation had to be kept so?short?in order?for him to catch his flight.??He had so much information?about?the nitty gritty of BEE and?there would have?been many interesting questions for him to answer and together with Dr Magau there were the makings of a really interesting debate.
BEE will affect all of us in some way, and being?an optometrist I will be no exception.? I have been qualified for 15 years now and been in my own practice for over 3 years.? My husband, Russell Crowhurst is also an optometrist and together we have a practice in Newton Park which Russell started in 1997.? We pride ourselves in personal attention we give our patients from when they walk in the door to when they leave with their glasses or contact lenses.? We have an optical laboratory on the premises which means prompt service.? We have also recently both done a course on Paediatric Binocular Vision and have set up our visual therapy room with a view to helping many young learners who would find studying a more pleasant experience when their eyes have been thoroughly tested and trained to deal with the enormous pressures put on them.? We have recently given our building a face lift and so we have a different "look" but our "vision" remains the same.? Come and "see" for yourself.
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The other treat was to meet our new CEO Tina Thompson.? It makes such a difference to put a face to a name and she made sure she came around and met everyone at dinner afterwards.? Thanks to both Tina and Dr Magau for making the time to come and visit us here in PE.? Thanks also to Club 39 for a wonderful venue and superb food, especially the pudding!!
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I came away with a much better understanding of BEE, but there is a lot more to learn!
BEE Presentation in Grahamstown
Tina Thomson, Dr Namane Magau, Daphne Timm & Colleen Rippon (Pam Golding Properties)
The same presentation was given to 40 businesswomen in Grahamstown, which was very well received. This was the first official function for the new BWA PE sub branch and the ladies were delighted that the presentation was given by BWA President Dr Namane Magau.
Following the presentation and after a delicious 3 course lunch with champagne and fruit juice provided by Tracey Mills, 8a St Aidans Avenue Guesthouse, both Dr Namane & new CEO Tina Thompson spoke with several attending.