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.

DOWN TO THE LINE : NO RESPITE FOR THE WICKED

LATEST NEWS AND PHOTOS FROM BLOCK A

The sales ground came alive yesterday, and the frenetic energy was palpable. Racing at the Vaal did not deter Gauteng’s training fraternity from turning up in numbers, and both their grooms and the horses had a decidedly “knackered” look to them by sunset.

It will be even busier today, but that of course is our principle purpose.

With 110 horses owned by 169 different people across seven time zones, it takes an army of correspondents to keep our vendors abreast of developments.

At the same time, arrangements for tonight’s big Emperors Palace Cocktail Party, were celebrities, owners, trainers and jockeys with engagements in the R1,5 million Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup, will be gathered. On display is the best trophy in racing, a spectacular goblet of pure silver, beautifully embossed in the old style. The trophy’s connectivity with Summerhill goes back to 1922, when its donor, King George V’s brother in law, the Earl Of Athlone was hosted by the erstwhile Deputy Prime Minister, Col George Richards at the farm.

As if that’s not enough for the plate, tomorrow heralds the big race. Elsewhere in this column you’ll find the betting, and that tells us just what an open affair it is. Sporting Post gives 13 of the 16 runners a chance of taking the spoils, and we’re proud to say that all 13 were graduates of the Summerhill draft last year. Indeed, fifteen of the sixteen entries in the race were.

Welcome Mbatha, better known to most of you as manager of the Summerhill Trading Store, but deployed in Johannesburg for the week’s events as commissar responsible for public relations and logistics, will have his hands full ferrying fans of the game, owners, bloodstock agents and our international guests, from the “Palace” to the racecourse and the salesground.

 

R1,5 MILLION EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP
7 NOVEMBER 2009

EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN SALE
8 NOVEMBER 2009

For more information please visit :
www.tba.co.za and www.summerhill.co.za

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.