March ‘10
Elegant. Flexible. Accessible. Showcasing our people, projects, events and the environment
From the desk of the CEO Dear reader, Welcome to the first edition of Gallagher Life. This newsletter introduces a new dimension to our company. With this we want to share with employees and visitors to Gallagher Convention Centre news about our offering, our achievements, our culture of openness and transparency, people, progress, prosperity and much more. I would also like to extend an invitation to our clients to contribute to the content and would welcome submissions about your experience at Gallagher to the editorial committee which will be managed by Mandy Mc Donald, resident at the Gallagher management office or e-mail at mandym@gallagher.co.za We therefore also offer the publication as a marketing platform for our valued clients. Whilst I am a relatively newcomer to the business of venue management, I have a strong financial and business orientation to facilitate that, together with a fantastic team, we can ensure financial longevity and sustain professional business conduct
for high performance. Having said this, I believe that internal and external feedback will direct our future actions. Professional feedback from customers who utilised our venue supports every argument that we are on the right track. Since this year we have formed an EXCO and all issues will receive the highest priority.
at all times. Corporate governance and compliance will therefore remain a priority with employees and customers. My experience on the African continent has taught me that what you put in is what you get out and in this context we will excel in every respect, also in regard to environmental conduct including ‘greening’. The legacy left by my predecessors in terms of maintaining high standards and to grow our portfolio will continue. I thank them for their vision and for putting in place structures and people
Although we are a 5 star establishment, every client including organisers, end-user and visitor will receive our undivided and professional attention. Indeed, we will introduce cost saving measures as are deemed necessary, but benefits of a streamlined business will cascade to our clients and our employees. I look forward to be part of a venue community that will deliver excellence time and time again. With kind regards A. Venter Chief Executive (acting)
Top women award During 2009 we were committed to the endorsement of best practice in the exhibition, event and conference industry. This commitment paid off with receiving the “Top Women in Business and Government” award. These awards have been strongly linked to the success of women in both the
public and private sector. Gallagher Convention Centre is proud of the nomination and win, as it confirmed our dedication to the recent changes implemented throughout South Africa with regards to gender equality. Ensuring the promotion of workplace equality for women is high on the priority list of our prestigious convention centre. With women in key strategic positions and an internal employee management policy which promotes gender equality, Gallagher is an employer of choice for women pursuing a successful career in the exhibition, conferencing and events industry.
In the five short years since the founding of the awards, it has become a forerunner for equality. The awards strive to recognise and reward companies and government departments making positive impact on South African economics and politics. We are happy to be able to make a difference in our beautiful country. Being led by a dedicated and passionate executive team, it is easy to see how our hard work and commitment pays off. We put legislative changes into practice and we are leading the way in ensuring equality, where only the best qualified individuals are appointed.
A queen is crowned at Gallagher We had the privilege to host the planet’s oldest and most prestigious beauty pageant. Miss World 2009 was held 11 and 12 December 2009. This was the 58th pageant and the second consecutive to be held in Johannesburg. Starting off as the Festival Bikini Contest, this pageant has grown in popularity and reputation since 1951. The winner of the pageant traditionally resides in London during her reign and travels the globe to represent the organisation in its various charitable causes. Contestants from the 112 countries were treated to various attractions in and
around Jo’burg, organised by the Johannesburg Tourism Company. This included FNB Soccer City, a tour of Soweto, the Johannesburg Zoo, the Lion Park and the Rosebank Craft Market. They had the privilege of meeting Pres. Jacob Zuma and also attended the FIFA draw. The entertainment for the glamorous evening was Umoja, who stunned the audience with traditional drumming and dancing. Umoja gave a proud South African flavour to this glittering event. Miss World 2009, Kaiane Aldorino from Gibraltar, was crowned with this coveted
crown as the ‘queen of the world’. Our own Tatum Kheswar, Miss South Africa 2009, also received a crown as the second runner up. The first runner up was Perla Beltran Acosta from Mexico. The pageant organisers decided to use Gallagher as a host venue, as we fitted the requirements perfectly. The main event was in Hall 2. This was broadcasted live to almost 2 billion viewers across the planet. We also hosted the coronation ball which took place in the ballroom right after the crowning. Gallagher was able to host this event with the warmth and hospitality that we are known for and this was a massive success.
Competition winner
Mandy Macdonald (right) with Persemie Mack (left), winner of the Newsletter name competition.
Joy to children’s home many Ben 10 branded items to the children. “The New Jerusalem Children’s Home is a very special place, with extraordinary children,” says acting CEO, Adolf Venter.
After the staging of the Ben 10 event in June 2009, all merchandise that was not sold to the public was stored until December and donated to the New Jerusalem Children’s Home, bringing joy to the children during the festive season. We have adopted the New Jerusalem Children’s Home as part of our corporate social investment initiatives and donated
The children were surprised with the company of the action figure Four Arms, a character in the Ben 10 cartoon. Four Arms helped us to hand out the gifts and posed for photos with the children. The New Jerusalem Children’s Home was established in 2000 in Midrand.
According to the founder of the Home, Adv. Anna Mojapelo, there is great abandonment in the community, especially of HIV positive children. This home has created a safe haven for the abandoned and vulnerable youth. “This home does such remarkable work in the community. It was with great joy that we were able to help put a smile on their faces during the festive season.”
Service with a... Following a career spanning nearly 50 years in the food, beverage, catering and venue management industries, of which 10 years with Gallagher Convention Centre, our resident Training Manager Fernando Fontes received the first ever Gallagher award for Service Excellence.
Our General Manager for Operations, Charles Wilson comments: “Fernando was indeed a worthy winner as he has over time introduced processes that have helped to elevate the Gallagher brand as a venue of choice for decision makers and opinion leaders. Repeat business is the consequence of customers who are satisfied with the service and we are indeed proud of what Fernando and his team has achieved”.
The award was presented to Fernando at our annual year-end staff function. Says Fernando who spent the early part of his career as F&B Manager at the then famous Carlton Hotel: “I was taken by total surprise and am very honoured that I could be the first recipient of the award which also bears my personal brand – the Fernando Fontes Service Excellence Award. I am passionate about service delivery as that can make or break any organisation, no matter the size or sector in which it conducts its business.”
Fernando has introduced a new culture of service and has removed worker familiarity with customers with one of respect and knowledge instead of an “in-the-face” approach. He has many plans to further improve on our service orientation and this will soon be seen in our new French Bistro where a-la-carte service will be a permanent recipe for success.
Celebrating the season We hosted our annual Christmas party on 15 December 2009 at home on Gallagher’s premises. All Gallagher employees were invited to attend the festivities. During the celebrations, our staff members with long service were acknowledged for their loyalty. The ‘carnival’ themed party was held in Hall 5, with ice-cream and popcorn machines to treat everyone who attended, while one of our very own
Gourmet chefs prepared delicious hamburgers. A DJ provided musical entertainment. New talent was discovered with karaoke, which was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. Other entertainment included sumo wrestling suits, a mechanical bull and a jumping castle. Moya Laing and Lazarus Molepo were both awarded for their ten years of dedication and hard work at Gallagher.
In his speech, Adolf Venter says Gallagher’s success is built on its employees. “Without the efforts by our employees, we would not be able to deliver the service we are famous for. Our employees need to be rewarded after a year of hard work.” This was truly a chance to celebrate our success of the past year and enjoy the company of our co-workers in a way we do not usually get a chance to.
Looking after our staff “Gallagher is not only a 32 hectare estate with buildings and gardens, it is a collection of likeminded people that believe service is our main priority. In quite a few cases we have return customers asking for specific employees by name. In lieu of this commitment from staff we are implementing the mentorship program to develop and grow our staff members,” says Charles Wilson, General Manager of Operations. The courses are custom designed to fit in with each employee’s specific training requirements. No two courses will ever be exactly the same and that is in keeping with doing things the ‘Gallagher way’. With the assistance of Frank Watson and Associates (FWA), we are having the course SETA accredited. This will ensure that the qualifications gained are nationally recognised. Part of the training process is that all participants in the course will be assessed by FWA to determine training needs. The course is open to all Gallagher employees and the selections were made as to the company’s needs first. All applicants will go through the course in due time. Fernando Fontes, Training Manager, is able to determine specific training requirements due to the fact that he had spent almost 10 years working with most employees.
commitment to growth and development. An assessment was done on some of our older staff members and due to the outcome of this they have been promoted into the positions that they had worked towards.
According to Fernando, it is extremely important for the industry we work in to provide service excellence. This is why the emphasis is placed on all round training with the primary focus being on operational skills. Training and development programmes have a positive impact on the morale of the employees. There is an atmosphere of enthusiasm on the estate in anticipation of the commencement of the mentorship program. The benefit to the estate can be seen through the expected service required from our guests. We are making it impossible for our competitors to cater to our clients. This is achieved through constant training and development in not only our management staff, but also in the service providers. Our staff turnover is one of the lowest in our industry. This is due to our
Gallagher is also bringing back some treasures from the past, Two Butlers are currently working in block six and they will soon go for formal Silver Service training. The new waitron uniforms will be introduced as of the 1st of February. This will consist of French bistro aprons, white gloves and white apron cloths. As part of the training initiative we will be training fifty waiters per service provider. The training will place emphasis on five star service delivery and will be done over a three day period at Gallagher. At the end of this program we will have a pool of 150 waiters, who are trained in Gallagher service, to choose from. Says Fernando, “Gallagher is a prestigious place to work at and we look after our staff extremely well. The relationship is not that of a manager and subordinate, but that of open communication and teamwork. There is an interactive relationship between management and staff, Our training and development initiatives tie in perfectly.”
Gallagher attends workshop at JCCI How to manage your energy levels and maximize your work performance at work and to manage a healthy lifestyle. From left to right: Caryn Leitgeb (Event co-ordinator), Elaine Crewe (Exhibition co-ordinator), Nicole Grobbelaar (Event co-ordinator) Nomzano Gcwensa (Sales consultant) and Rachel Naidoo (Event co-ordinator)
Our people Sometimes change is joyful. Sometimes it’s sad. However, change is the consequence of strategic planning and business conditioning. Also we have made a few strategic changes recently, to sustain success in our future endeavours. Ciné de Jager has taken over from Persemie Mack, as she left us at the end of 2009. Ciné has been with us for five years and has now been promoted to Sales Manager. She was previously working as a sales consultant and was promoted to Senior Sales Consultant in April 2009. Her strategic plans for 2010 include the realignment of Gallagher as the venue of choice in the conferencing, exhibitions and events industry. Charles Wilson has been appointed as General Manager Operations. He comes from a background in the catering industry, where he worked for TS Africa Catering Solution, based at Mnet and MultiChoice. His vision for his career at Gallagher is to provide the expert service that we are famous for. James Mabasa is now the Operations Manager. He was working with Gallagher as Banqueting Manager and has been with us for 16 years. He feels that his future holds a lot of success at Gallagher and hopes to one day be one of the General Managers. Phillip Sekgobane comes from Silverton, where he worked as the Maintenance Manager for MTA. He has been
appointed as the Assistant Property Manager for Gallagher. He is passionate about uplifting others and hopes he can achieve this at Gallagher. Promoted from Banqueting Manager to assistant Operations Manager, Stephen Ramfumedzi dreams of contributing to Gallagher’s success in the future. He has been with Gallagher for 15 years. Vusi Nkosi has been with Gallagher for 12 years. He has recently been promoted to Assistant Operations Manager form being the banqueting manager. New Assisting Banqueting Manager is Thembi Valashiya, who starts 1 February 2010. She has been a contractor with Gallagher for the past 4 years and is looking forward to the future. She hopes to work herself up, maybe even becoming a General Manager. Samira Rajkaran used to work at NDT as a debt collector. She is very impressed with her appointment with us as debtor’s clerk. She wishes to grow in the company in the coming years. On 1 December 2009, Nico Olivier started as Cash-up Officer Assistant. He has a background in finance and worked at Unitas hospital in Centurion. Nico’s dream for Gallagher is that we will reach the highest success and rise above our competitors. Edwin Wilson has received a promotion to Beverage Manager after one year with
Anna Malaza
Carol Neloheni
Chantelle Massyn
Charles Wilson
Ciné de Jager
Nico Olivier
Nomzamo Gcwensa
Phillip Sekgobane
Stephen Ramfumedzi
Samira Rajkaran
Gallagher. Coming from Durban, where he worked for a family business, Edwin is very happy with this promotion. In sales, Nomzamo Gcwensa has been appointed as a Consultant. She left the Hotel Express to join the Gallagher team, where she believes she can grow in her leadership abilities. The new Wine Garden Manager, as from 1 February 2010, is Carol Neloheni. She has been in the Gallagher family for 13 years, working as a receptionist for the past seven years. Carol dreams of climbing the ladder of success and believes that she will achieve this through hard work and dedication to her task. Anna Malaza’s dream of becoming a manager has been realised after she was promoted to Guest Relations Manager. This outgoing lady is inspired by our clients and has never met a difficult client in the 17 years she has been working for Gallagher. Following her dream from her schooldays, Chantelle Massyn has recently joined the Gallagher team as Assistant Banqueting Manager. She hopes to work with Gallagher for a long time and to be able to reach her goals through hard work. We would like to congratulate everyone. May Gallagher move from strength to strength with our teamwork and dedication to excellence!
Edwin Wilson
Thembi Valashiya
James Mabasa
Vusi Nkosi
Gallagher takes honours at EXSA Awards The annual EXSA Awards gala event was held at our venue on 6 November 2009 with a “go green” theme. This concept was most relevant for our own corporate image as we have been working hard to comply with a strong environmental orientation. The evening was a glittering showcase of the best in the Exhibition Industry. Those of us who attended were of course pleasantly surprised when the award for the Best Exhibition Venue was announced and we could walk on stage to receive this very special accolade. The awards aim to honour excellence within the industry and we celebrated all night long as we received in total three awards that evening. Elaine Crewe, our Exhibitions Co-ordinator, won the award for Best Exhibition Venue Employee for 2009, sharing it with Adene Pringle from the Sandton Convention Centre. We also received a Silver Award in the category for “Memorable Events” for our Ben 10 experiential event. Well done to all the colleagues for their efforts and with the aim to stay focused on service excellence we should all work towards a repeat performance in 2010.
Evading a potential CAT-astrophy The common domestic cat, also known as the housecat or felis catus, is not an unfamiliar sight to most people. This is especially true for us. Cats can be seen prowling around in the gardens surrounding the buildings on an almost daily basis, stalking their oblivious prey. Most of these cats, especially the older ones, are wild and hunt for birds, mice and other small prey. Initially the grounds had a small number of resident cats that kept away pests like mice and rats. Their numbers have increased at an alarming rate over the years. One female cat can produce at
least nine kittens per year. The affects on the environment can be disturbing, because they catch and eat birds. The cats themselves also suffer. Their coats are in a sad state, ridden with ticks and fleas, their eyes are dull and their noses runny; and they usually experience other health issues. As part of our social responsibility initiatives, we have started a project to capture these unfortunate creatures. Once captured, they are surgically sterilised to avoid future unwanted kittens and treated by a veterinarian. The kittens that are caught are
immediately given a new home, after sterilisation and treatment. Older cats will be released back onto the grounds. “It is unfortunate that this situation has elevated to the proportions it has reached,” says Adolf Venter, acting CEO. “No cat deserves to be subjected to these kinds of circumstances”. We are set on rectifying the situation. We have started feeding the cats daily and will also monitor them closely from now on. Gallagher will give them the care they need.
Remembering our origins
Gallagher is a name that has been synonymous with Midrand since the start of the twentieth century. The Gallagher family bought the original 17 hectare property early on in the century, and used it as a country retreat from the growing city of Johannesburg. Mr Gallagher, the property’s original owner, often took guests to his country home for weekend parties in his heyday in the 1920’s. Sadly the Gallagher’s had no children of their own so the property was left, in its entirety, to the Johannesburg Child Welfare Society on his death. The costs of maintaining the estate proved too arduous for the Society and the property remained empty for many years until the Society arranged for the Thompson family to rent the home. Says Gaile Thompson, former resident: “Our family began the long process of reclaiming the gardens and the estate from the African bush and we often made
some surprising finds as we went along. The original pool house now lies beneath the Koi Deck and the edges of the pool have been softened with rocks to create a natural pool. Even the doors which now house a storage room are the original doors chosen by the Gallagher’s. The remains of the old circular drive, leading up to the house which was located where the Main Reception area is today, are still visible. Mr Gallagher was very fond of clivias, which explains their presence across the estate to this day. The streams leading through the wine garden and across the estate were built by the Gallagher’s to feed a trout hatchery which forms a beautiful pond, now home to Gallagher Convention Centre’s pair of swans, in front of the Lotus room. The original oriental Monet inspired bridge across the pond is the original bridge installed by Mr Gallagher and I am certain it is still the same red he chose.”
early nineties and the property was transformed into what it is today. Over the course of about five years, until our opening in 1995, the original house was demolished and Gallagher Convention Centre took shape around the beautiful gardens, streams and pools that form part of Gallagher’s charm and beauty today. Gallagher has been an integral part of Midrand’s history and we are proud that we have been able to preserve so much of the original surroundings.
Thompson even cleared up a mystery that has been puzzling to the staff at Gallagher for a while. There is a large rock with a metal ladder outside one of our meeting rooms. Guests have asked what it leads to. Gaile was able to inform us that it leads up to a viewing platform, built by Mr Gallagher so that he could see Kyalami race track! Johannesburg Child Welfare was eventually able to sell the property in the
What’s on at Gallagher Gallagher is hosting very interesting events in the coming months. Things to look out for: AIR Africa Exhibition (16 Feb- 18 Feb 2010): Aviation Industry Rendezvous (AIR) Africa is hosting this exhibition for aviation specialists, together with Masterclass and Dialogue. Registration beforehand encouraged at www.airafricaexpo.co.za Beeld Holiday Show (19 Feb- 21Feb 2010): If you’re not sure where to plan your next holiday, this show is a must! Visit www.holidayshow.co.za
2010 My Business Conference and Expo (5 March 2010): This is a one day event only. If you are the owner of a small business, be sure to visit www.nsbc.org.za SARCDA International (11 March- 14 March 2010): The South African Retailers and Chemists Druggists Association hosts one of the largest exhibitions internationally. For more information visit www.sarcda.co.za
The PRISA Prism Awards (31 March 2010): Acknowledging excellence in Public Relations, this annual awards ceremony will be hosted at Gallagher Convention Centre, 31 March 2010. If you need information, visit www.prisa.co.za
19 Richards Drive, Midrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. Tel: +27 11 266-3000 - Web: www.gallagher.co.za Martin Snoek Communications (MSC)