EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
20
The keynote speaker for
the evening was Vinesh
Naidu, who was one of
the first team members
of IOPSA in 1989.
Annual awards put the
spotlight on industry heroes
The 2019 Annual IOPSA Awards evening was another
roaring success with a full house of plumbers, auditors,
merchants, manufacturers, and representatives from
government who came together to recognise those who
have made significant progress in the plumbing arena.
By Benjamin Brits
Held at the Aha Gateway Hotel conference facility
on 11 April 2019, the industry's premier black-tie
event was hosted by Lorraine Mooi as the master
of ceremonies. Opening up the proceedings with a
little humour, Mooi joked about her capabilities as
an MC, as all she really knows anything about is
“fixing geysers and unblocking drains”.
The executive director of the Institute of Plumbing
South Africa (IOPSA), Brendan Reynolds, then
addressed attendees with thanks for their participation
as well as for those who had travelled a long way to be
at the event. Also, thanks went to the event sponsors:
Builders Warehouse, Plumblink, Heat Tech, Wattapac,
and Lixil.
“We are here to celebrate the heroes of the industry
and in my opinion, these heroes include the IOPSA staff
whose tireless dedication and hard work is what allows
us to all be here and partake in such a prestigious
evening. But most importantly, these are the people
who also run our organisation. They work long hours,
always put in extra effort, and often find themselves
under huge amounts of stress but they always wear a
smile and have positive energy, and that energy comes
from people who believe in what they do and believe
in the industry that we are all a part of. For being such
May 2019 Volume 25 I Number 3
a small team and running IOPSA on a national level
along with all of the volunteers, committee members,
and everyone who is giving freely of their time [because
these volunteers do not get paid anything for what they
do], makes me proud to be a part of this organisation,”
Reynolds said.
Reynolds continued highlighting some of the significant
achievements for the year, which include:
• establishing a working transformation committee
• assisting in launching the SA Watermark
• introducing free first aid and firefighting training for
members
• establishing a successful auditing service
• conducting a full review of the IOPSA constitution
• engaging with and signed MOUs with important
industry players such as CETA
• conducting large-scale market research
• making significant progress with the insurance
industry.
Most importantly, Reynolds noted the 101 new members
who joined IOPSA over the past financial year. This
is testament that the industry is happy with what the
organisation is doing and the results they are achieving
— this is the greatest vote of confidence for any
organisation.
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