Nominations awaited for top business people

The Soutpansberg Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its prestigious annual gala evening once again, this time on Saturday, 19 September.

As in previous years, the gala evening will coincide with the chamber’s annual Business Person of the Year Award ceremony. Apart from this sought-after award, awards will also be given in several other categories. At present, the chamber is looking for nominees for these awards and has invited the public to nominate suitable candidates.

The categories and their criteria are:

* Local Business Person of the Year: This must be a person of good standing and high moral principle, one who is well respected by all his/her peers;

* Entrepreneur of the Year: Relatively new business, non-franchise, should involve a new idea, new concept, new product or service;

* Corporate Manager of the Year: This person must be heading a corporate institution or division within a corporate company;

* Newsmaker of the Year: A person who lives in and actively promotes Limpopo, Vhembe region;

* Corporate Company of the Year: A local and well-respected business of good standing. Nominations may include franchises; and

* Tourism Salt Shaker of the Year: The tourism operator and personality that contributed the most to developing and promoting tourism in our area.

Apart from the above award, certificates will also be handed out. These merit certificates are:

* Merit Certificate for outstanding Service to the Community: This is an open category where nominations may include any member living and working in our community who distinguished themselves in rendering services of exceptional standard to the benefit of all members of our community.  The first nomination in this category will therefore not be linked to any business, institution or private sector entity in our community;

* General ‘Performer of the Year’ Certificate: Open nomination, recipient should not necessarily be linked to any business enterprise or public service office;

* South African Police Services Outstanding Service Certificate: Any member of the SAPS who distinguished himself/herself with exceptional service rendered to the community.  This nomination is not to be linked to rank or office, but must flow from real, definitive actions in and towards the community;

* Outstanding Contribution in Education Certificate: Nominees in this discipline must have excelled beyond the call of duty in the uplifting of learners. This must not necessarily be linked to the specific educational discipline of the performer but more to actions leading to the general stimulation and creation of a performance-enhancing environment for learners. The objective here will be the reversing of the generally negative educational environment in which learners and teachers find themselves today.

* Outstanding Health Service Contribution Certificate: That individual who performed beyond the normal call of duty in securing and rendering selfless services in our community within the medical discipline and outside the comfort of his or her normal practice environment;

* Public Official of the Year Certificate: That public official who, in more way than one, proved that public servants can and still do render effective and friendly services to the public. Once again the criterion will be to look for exceptional service rendering; and

* Secretary/Receptionist of the Year Certificate: This person will have made the right impression on the client, rather than her office manager/boss. Again, excellence in service will be the main criterion, but here personality and generally good demeanour are also important.  Professionalism must also rule over familiarity without taking away “service with a smile”.

Persons wishing to nominate candidates can do so by emailing the candidates’ details to [email protected]. For more information, Elsabé can be phoned at Tel 082 308 0472.

News - Date: 16 July 2015

Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

Email: [email protected]