SUMMERHILL TRADING : A "WELCOME" BONUS

Welcome Mbatha
(Photo : Summerhill Stud)

WELCOME MBATHA
“Mayor of Mooi River”

One division at Summerhill you hear very little about, is the trading store. The reason is, it’s tied with Goss & Co Insurance brokers as the least trouble! Those that remember the days when Vuma feeds were manufactured exclusively at Summerhill, will tell you that the trading store is tucked in between the loading ramps and the Vuma factory, convenient to everyone as they come and go to and from work. It’s the social gathering ground of everyone on the farm, and it’s the place where the bulk of our people first learnt to open and manage a credit account. You want to know what’s happening on the farm, formally or informally, how we’re managing the holidays, when the next shop bonus is going to be paid out, where the next party is, births, deaths, marriages and “scraps”, you’ll know it from a visit to the store.

The man in charge is Welcome Mbatha, whose name is already inscribed on the roll of honour of those who’ve received long service awards. He grew up the son of a labourer at Weston Agricultural College on the outskirts of our village, and joined us as a driver his first career job. As Group Business Manager, Ferdi Heinen puts it, Welcome made the job his own, and made it his business to know everyone and everything about the components of the group, as well as each and everyone of our suppliers. It wasn’t long, and he’d earned his nickname “Mayor of Mooi River”. His enterprise, his willingness and his decency compelled us to keep looking in his direction whenever a new position of suitable seniority opened itself, and when Ferdi’s late wife, Cathy, passed on, it was time to give Welcome a go. Shopkeeping was completely strange to him, but here was an entrepreneur, a trader from his toes to the top of his head, and it wasn’t long before he’d become the buyer, the merchandiser, the marketer and the salesman.

In a wink he’d become the administrator too, calculating his own mark-ups, reconciling debtors and the banking, tracking his stock holdings, signing off and settling creditors. Turnovers, budgets, GPs, net profits, you name it, Welcome has it in hand, and the Group Financial Manager, Kevin Fyvie, will tell you that when it comes to his monthly meeting with the money people, Mr Mbatha has all the answers.

Summerhill Trading has given Welcome an appetite for opportunity, and his entrepreneurial verve has helped him to spot the gaps. For many years, we’ve transported those that don’t live on the farm in and out of the village on a daily basis in the old Mercedes Benz five tonner, acquired in 1987 as a “rebuild”. Heaven knows how long it had been on the road before then, but it’s still going, though slowly. And that’s where the gap lay. Welcome noticed that a single vehicle made staff logistics cumbersome, without the flexibility of second and third shifts. He approached management with a proposal that he be contracted to provide a taxi service, for which purpose he would use his personal Toyota LDV. It wasn’t long, and he’d acquired a Hi Ace minibus, to which he’s since added a 16 seater Quantum and a 23 seater VW buss to his fleet. We know not the bounds of where he’s headed, but what we do know, he’s the same old Welcome we took on as a driver 11 years ago.

ALL IN THE NAME OF EDUCATION

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(Photos : Leigh Willson)

AL MAKTOUM SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT EXCELLENCE

For a decade now, the five businesses in the Goss Group; Summerhill, Hartford House, Vuma Feeds, Goss & Co Insurance Brokers and Summerhill Trading, have convened at some unique out-of-the-way venue for their annual conference. These gatherings have played a significant role in the strategic directions of our businesses, which are as diverse from one another as lions, hippopotamuses and zebras are.

Just as unique is the subject matter of the debates as well as the quality of the addresses of our contributing speakers, most of whom reside within our own home-grown team. This year, our focus is going to be on the individual, the selection and training of our staff, the advancement of their ambitions and the realisation of their dreams.

As significant as any venture we’ve undertaken is the Al Maktoum School Of Management Excellence, now a serious work-in-progress. Ronney Naidoo and his team of builders, “daga boys”, bricklayers, carpenters and general factotums, have been grafting away feverishly since mid December, and we’re seeing the first fruits of a serious endeavour. Never one short of optimism, Ronney expects the thatchers to join the fray in early March, which means we ought to have a good crop of “blonde” perching cosily on top of the centre of learning, come Stallion Day in July.

On that topic, bear in mind that for the first time in its more-than-hundred year history, the Vodacom July has had to make way for the Fifa World Cup, which means that rather than being staged on the first Saturday of the month, as it has for more than a century, “the July” will be staged on the last Saturday of the month. Because of its billing as “Racing’s Greatest Day Out”, the Summerhill Stallion Day, which in the last few years has attracted at least 14 different nations, will now take place on the last Sunday of July, and while the School won’t be complete by then, weather permitting, we’re hopeful of showing our visitors something substantially approaching what will eventually be the only facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

A Tribute to Cathy

Catherine Anne Heinen
09.07.1951 - 16.12.2008

Importantly, in a business of five excellent divisions, under her watch the trading store was the most trouble-free, because she cared, because she was diligent in the extreme and because she was married to the Business Manager.

In several respects Cathy was a beacon of a lady. When it came to integrity, she was an angel; in terms of sincerity she was the benchmark; we all took our cue from Cathy when it came to humility; her values and her honesty stood out in a world that was often short when it came to these things.

You might be gone Cath, but you left an awful lot behind, not the least of which is a community that learnt from you and a family that doted on you. We know though that from where you sit right now, your custodianship will carry on, and there’s great comfort among those you left behind that this is so.

Out and About: The Store with More

The Summerhill Trading Store - more than just a centre of commerce but also an integral meeting point. Image by Tanya Freeguard. One of the most vital aspects of a working farm is the morale and welfare of its staff. The existence of the Summerhill Trading Store plays an important role in this. Not just serving as a supply source for Summerhill staff, the store also acts as a meeting and focal point for everyone attached to the farm. The Trading Store acts as a “newspaper” of sorts to the staff, as notices from management and upcoming events are posted on the noticeboard. To illustrate this point the farm recently held its annual Stallion Day which was attended by well over 400 people, and photographs of the day and the staff were posted on the board for the staff to see. There was great excitement and laughter as the staff searched for their pictures. Recent additions to the board include various action shots of the Summerhill soccer team in action and track riders working the Ready to Race draft.  

Being situated some distance from the town of Mooi River, it is often somewhat difficult for the staff to travel from Summerhill into the town. They have to rely on transport, and frequent trips can prove expensive. The Trading store is therefore extremely convenient. It stocks a wide variety of goods from frozen chicken pieces, bread, milk and canned goods, to a variety of different drinks, and sweets. The staff can also buy furniture at the store in the form of DVD players and stoves, the big advantage being that staff can make repayments over a period of time with interest-free terms. Another bonus for the staff is that in addition to their salary they receive a monthly ration in the form of food, again this negates a lengthy trip into town to purchase these items.

The familiar and friendly face of the Trading Store is Welcome Mbatha, who has been with Summerhill for many years. Welcome started off as the driver for Summerhill and worked his way up to his present position. When asked what makes the Trading Store such an integral part of the Summerhill community he responded:

“The most important aspect for the staff is the fact that they can purchase these goods without paying interest. They also don’t have to leave the surrounds of the farm.”

Welcome feels that the Trading Store and its staff provide an important service to the staff in this respect and says, “I am very pleased to be part of it”.

Welcome’s assistant is Joyce Kunene.

Story by MEGAN ROMEYN.