Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal Events Calendar 2010

The Marketing Department has a full schedule of meetings, events and functions planned for this year.  If you want to get the best from your membership of the Association, we recommend that you pencil in some of these dates.  Please note some of the dates are provisional, so it is a good idea to check the online calendar on our website (masterbuilders.co.za) regularly.  Changes and updates will also be communicated on our Blog and in our e-Newsletter which comes out every second Wednesday.

Our flagship function this year will be the opening of the Green Building Centre on the ground floor of our head office in Westville.  Renovations are currently in full swing and also include additional conference and meeting rooms, a range of alternative energy solutions for the Master Builders Centre and a new parking deck.  The launch will coincide with our AGM and will be held early in June.

Our two regular functions, the Excellence in Construction Awards and the Health and Safety Awards, will be taking place in September and October respectively.  Both of these functions have grown in support and recognition over the last few years and we look forward to another big increase in entries.  In 2009, the winners of our Regional Health & Safety Awards went on to win 9 out of the 10 categories in the National Health & Safety Awards.  This is an outstanding achievement and we are working hard to help you repeat the achievement again this year.

2010 will see the first Roadshows ever. The Roadshows were borne out of constructive feedback received from Members throughout the year and aim to improve on the mixed format of the regular Members meetings that were held in each region.  All managers will attend both Roadshows and will give an short overview of the respective services offered by each of their departments and be on hand to answer any questions.  In addition, we are sourcing top quality speakers on a range of topics that will directly impact on members.  The Roadshow is of course an ideal opportunity to network with your fellow contractors and suppliers and we hope to see you all there.  The first series of Roadshows will be held from 11 to 18 March and the second from 12 to 19 August.

We will be starting the implementation of our Best Practice Model soon.  One aspect of this is a Health & Safety check on all Members, which will result in an increased awareness of Health & Safety and an increased demand for information.  Our online Health & Safety forum is an excellent source of information, but we would also like to encourage you to participate in the Health & Safety Forum meetings held at the Master Builders Centre in Westville every two months.  This is an opportunity for you to hear of the latest developments in this area first hand and to network with other Health & Safety professionals and Contractors.

For the golfers out there, we have a golf day planned for each region again.  The increase in our marketing partner database, will allow us to offer even better events this year.  The Golf Days will all follow the same format this year and there will be fantastic prizes on offer and a dinner with entertainment after the golf.  Another first this year is a golf day in Kokstad.  This will be run and hosted by our South Coast Regional Manager and we hope to attract a lot of Members and prospective new Members.

The annual Pietermaritzburg Race day and the South Coast Tennis day will again be a feature on this year's calendar, and we would like to remind Members that these events are open to Members from all regions.  We have also planned a family fun day on Comrades Race Day, in the parking lot at the Master Builders Centre in Westville.  The Comrades has a record number of entires this year and this will give us an opportunity to be part of this huge event and perhaps get a bit of coverage for our new Green Building Centre.

Following a very successful community project in Gamalakhe Township last year, we are working on an idea which will enable all Members to get involved throughout the Province.  This will be a great opportunity for you to give something back to your community and will get great local, regional and national press coverage.  Watch this space...

Lastly, to get into the spirit of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, we will be erecting a big screen in our newly renovated ground floor and will be showing some of the key matches live.  If you are not one of the fortunate ones who have an actual ticket to a match, why not come and join us. We will be serving snacks and drinks will be available.  We look forward to seeing you at a number of meetings, events and functions this year and wish you a prosperous 2010.

Gary Amstutz | Commercial & Marketing Manager