I
t’s been 10 years since the good folk at the industry RACA Journal magazine felt it was a worthwhile story to
share some information on Shamus Rennie during our 50th anniversary. We are grateful for their continued
interest and would also like to thank our suppliers, who have made this publication possible and joined us in
celebrating our 60th birthday.
Celebrating our milestone and doing some writing for this publication has resulted in this being a very
reflective time. It’s incredible for me that Shamus Rennie still feels brand new. Work is exciting, and life-affirming
and there seems to be so much unexplored territory in terms of potential for where it might go. Something Mr
Wimpie Swiegers points out to me regularly is: “Surely Ryan, after 60 years you should have a system for avoiding
that problem you just created?” I can’t argue with him on that, but we are always on the lookout for new problems
and ways of solving those problems for our customers.
Reflection is always educational and enlightening, but dreaming of what is possible always crackles with energy.
Where today, in a world that is largely discovered, do we, in our own small way, have an opportunity to be pioneers
and to chart courses into the unknown? We at Shamus Rennie, believe that the study and application of human
potential in the context of an organisation is a truly worthwhile human endeavour fraught with challenges and
unexpected twists, but laden with moments of ecstasy and fulfilment.
Tom Robbins wrote in his book, Jitterbug Perfume:
At birth we are red-faced, round, intense, pure. The crimson fire of universal
consciousness burns in us. Gradually, however, we are devoured by parents,
gulped by schools, chewed up by peers, swallowed by social institutions,
wolfed by bad habits and gnawed by age and by the time we have been
digested, cow style, in those six stomachs, we emerge a single disgusting
shade of brown.
What is an organisation other than an opportunity to do something
special and make a difference with a diverse group of people that
functions as a well-oiled machine? Where else in the world do you
have diversity to the level we do in South Africa? Stoking the passion
within the organisation to be a part of something unique and special,
embracing new ideas and changing scenarios, doing ethical work
and growing as individuals and a team are some of the ways that we
consciously approach our work and circumstances.
We have much to be grateful for. To our customers, individuals and
companies, who have supported us over the years, to suppliers with whom we have
formed strong mutually-beneficial relationships and who form a key part of our ability to
perform, to our dedicated and committed staff who come back year after year to grow and improve
and to offer that little bit extra to what our customers are expecting, thank you to you all!
Ryan Rennie
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SHAMUS RENNIE • 60 YEARS • A THIRD GENERATION FAMILY BUSINESS • 1
FROM THE MD