Conference in the city

On Saturday I drove 180km (one way) from the farm to the city of Durban on the eastern seaboard of Southern Africa. I attended a conference - one of two held per year - for Weigh-Less. 

I left home at 6h40 in the rain. And turned onto the freeway in the rain. And drove all the way to Durban in the rain. It was hectic for this country bumpkin, hillbilly of a granny but whoopee, I made it there. And enjoyed the meeting and made it all the way back in one day! 

At the hall, I met up with the ladies from Pietermaritzburg and Durban and my favorite group leader, Zulaika Hoosen, (Ladysmith based) who put me through my paces last year when I trained towards becoming a group leader. 

The event on Saturday is held  early in the year,  especially to recognize  the Weigh-Less group leaders for their achievements during the past year. I haven't been with Weigh-Less for all that time - I only launched my two groups in mid-October last year. 

However, there I was being called up and awarded for being the most progressive group leader in the province. It was great to be acknowledged so early in my career with Weigh-Less. 

There were many other awards being given out - and ultimately the Group Leader of 2018 award was presented to a lovely lady, Sadia from Durban. As soon as it looked as if things were winding down and we'd soon be saying goodbye, I slipped off  to visit the ladies' rest room before embarking on my long journey home. 

When I walked back into the hall from the rear,  it was dead quiet and every head turned to watch me. The founder and chairperson of Weigh-Less, Mary Holroyd and her regional manager, Rouna were looking directly at me. Although I haven't been with the overall team all that long, and afterwards thought I was probably being forward, I pointed to myself and said "What ? Have I done something wrong?" 

Everyone burst out laughing and Mary said, No, you need to come up and collect your award as The Newcomer of the year  2018 ! As I walked to the front again, the other ladies all applauded. I was touched and thrilled to be acknowledged for my efforts albeit over the past four months! As Mary handed me my trophy, she also gave me an envelope and said, this is a voucher for you. 

Eventually we all said goodbye to each other and I left the city, hitting the freeway by 2pm and arriving home shortly after 4pm. Phew! I was relieved to have had safe trip to and from the city and know that next time I won't be so apprehensive about embarking on such a journey.

This morning I remembered the envelope Mary had given me and opened it. It was a pamper voucher for Woolworths to the value of R500! This translates as US$36 which doesn't seem/sound so much but is a king's ransom to me! Now I need to get to the city again to spend the voucher. 

The certificate, trophy (top left) and pamper voucher I was awarded at the conference on Saturday 

HAPPY MONDAY TO YOU ALL!