Kingswood BUZZard
The official Newsletter of the Kingswood Golf Estate HOA
September 2022 Edition #9
From the CEO
Welcome to the 2022 Spring edition of the BUZZard
Spring is probably my favourite season. Right after the cold of winter, everything is just beginning to wake up and turn from brown to green, and it’s like a rebirth of the beautiful thing we call nature. Mother Nature has had her beauty rest and is ready to wake up and show us what she can do. Life explodes, trees are blooming, birds are nesting, flowers are blossoming, new springbok lambs are born, and there is new life everywhere.
Since the AGM in June, the Kingswood teams have been very busy implementing strategy and executing operationally. A project manager was appointed to drive a feasibility study into the proposed community centre/clubhouse, and good progress is being made in this regard. See more information about this in this edition of the BUZZard.
The security and risk subcommittee of the board worked tirelessly with our security service provider to implement security improvements on the estate. See more detail about this from Chris Horsley (chairman of the committee) later in this edition. I am happy to report, however, that we implemented a security infrastructure maintenance agreement with Fidelity-
ADT as from 1 September.
Our current five-year landscaping contract is drawing to a close at the end of October, so we issued a request for proposal (RFP) to entities interested in tendering for our landscaping contract for the next five years. We involved experts in the field of horticulture to assess our current and future (five years) landscaping needs, and to help us draft a comprehensive scope of work, which formed the basis of our RFP. We received amazing interest from the market, and the tender adjudication committee is currently considering six high-quality tenders, as well as our current service provider, Golfscape. The new landscaping contract will take effect from 1 November 2022. I will report on the appointment of the service provider for the next five years in our December BUZZard.
As part of the restructuring plan of the HOA, Mornay Stoop has been appointed from 1 September as operational manager for the HOA. He will be looking after the day-to-day monitoring of security, landscaping, the environmental management plan, and estate maintenance. Mornay will also be responsible for house rule and contractor compliance. See more detail about Mornay in this issue.
Dan de Wet, our estate stalwart for the past 11 years, will remain an integral part of the HOA staff. He will, however, now be focusing his attention solely on the architectural compliance at Kingswood, working closely with homeowners, contractors and architects to ensure that our architectural themes are maintained and that building plans submitted comply with our strict guidelines at all times.
Our loved receptionist, Masadi le Roux, is pregnant and will be on maternity leave from mid-October this year to take care of their little baby boy. We wish her a happy and restful maternity leave. Feel free to pop in at HOA reception to wish her well for the big day.
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Please note, The newsletter is designed like a magazine, the articles and images flow over two or more pages.
Kingswood greetings,
Willem Jacobs
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Kingswood BUZZard News
Bringing out the best in you is but one of Tony’s many strengths
5 min readAt the Kingswood Golf Estate AGM on 27 June, two new trustees were selected to serve alongside existing office bearers Marilyn Kamp and Gerrit Nieuwoudt – welcomed into the fold that memorable Monday were Jonathan Witts-Hewinson and Anthony Jacobsen. Jonathan was on leave when this edition saw the light, but do read on to find out more about the inimitable ‘Tony J’.
Kingswood clubhouse, security, and dam wall repairs
5 min readThe new KGE clubhouse and community centre: ‘for the flow of it’ When chatting to Kingswood resident Eugene Schoombie about his role in realising the estate’s new clubhouse, the excitement is palpable. But Eugene – a quantity surveyor and project manager by profession
Meet Kingswood’s new ops man, Mornay Stoop
2 min readKingswood Golf Estate’s new operations manager, Mornay Stoop, took up this challenging and exciting post on 1 September. While he isn’t a golfer we found that Mornay, who is from the northern reaches of KwaZulu-Natal, is truly up to the task.
Know The Rules – Is it legal, reasonable, enforceable?
3 min readIt’s illegal for teenagers to ride on golf carts, but some estates turn a blind eye and so risk litigation, were something to go horribly wrong. Estate managers are urged to familiarise themselves with lesser-known rules in order to avoid trouble with the law.
Focus on ProQS founder Eugene Schoombie
5 min readThis column introduces exceptional Kingswood residents, who run businesses that do the estate proud and prove a boon to the Garden Route and beyond. As the name implies, ProQS specialises in quantity surveying, but also offers many other building-related services, having been intimately involved in the Southern Cape construction industry for a quarter century-plus.
Kingswood’s neighbours
3 min readIf you think big-time developers wear designer suits, need to be ‘of a certain age’, or have an unassailable air of importance, think again: sporty Jonathan Hills, 40, is at the helm of an exciting project at the Rooirivier site just up the road from Kingswood Golf Estate, and he’s the epitome of a new-generation boy on the George development block.
Should you allow your employees to work remotely overseas?
3 min readFollowing the pandemic, remote working has continued to feature, with some employers and employees seeing the benefits. There are plenty of advantages. Flexible working not only saves time and costs, but it can also ramp up productivity and performance.
