The Durban branch of the SAIMC held their popular and well-supported annual year-end dinner at the Mount Edgecombe Country Club on 23 November 2024. Zeus, the mythical Greek god of the sky and weather, normally associated with thunder, lightning, rain, and winds, was taking a sabbatical and we were blessed with a gorgeous Durban summer’s evening, which meant that the welcome drinks were held on the deck overlooking the greens. We spotted some guests there as early as 17h00, so they got prime seats to enjoy the start of the festivities.
As always, formalities were kept short, with branch general manager Mark Calvert doing both the GM and MC roles; and very efficient he was too, starting the evening by welcoming and thanking everybody in his relaxed and informal manner. He gave a brief run-down of the year, highlighting the hard work done in the control and instrumentation industry in KZN and summarising the branch activities: the monthly technology evenings, the UKZN student expo spearheaded by Prof Saha, and the ever-successful golf day. He stressed the need for new people to join the Durban branch committee as some of the ‘old guard’ are stepping down. It is hoped that his impassioned plea struck a chord with some younger members in the audience. Mark then introduced SAIMC CEO Johan Maartens who delighted all and joked about the relaxed no-PowerPoint presentation rule. He was excited to announce the pinnacle of the SAIMC’s year, which was the approval by the Board of the structural reorganisation of MESA Africa, forming two distinct advisory councils of the SAIMC: the Computer Engineering Advisory Council and the End User Advisory Council. This change enhances the SAIMC’s focus and effectiveness in addressing the diverse stakeholders’ unique needs and challenges and recognises the critical role that MESA Africa plays in the advancement of computer engineering and end user involvement.
After a short video of the Africa Automation Technology Fair 2023 exhibition and a look at what’s to come in 2025 (don’t forget to support it!), the formalities came to an end.
Dinner was, as usual, a delicious buffet of Durban chicken curry and roast lamb with crispy roast potatoes and sautéed vegetables, which everybody tucked into whilst enjoying some background music provided by Angus, our musicians for the evening. Angus has become a staple of the year-end dinner, and the committee has been warned by those who enjoy a good boogie to never take them off the menu.
Schalk Bezuidenhout. What can be said about this articulate, funny, witty and charming comedian? If you missed it you missed out. If you were there – it was a real treat. He had the audience in stitches as he cleverly recapped the evening (lots of knowledge about water pipes in the room!), discussed the challenges of moving into a gated estate in KZN and a myriad other topics.
To view all the photos from the evening please go to: http://saimcdbn.co.za
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