Farewell

Posted on April 03, 2017

We wish each and everyone of them the very best in all their future endeavors.

Mrs Gerna van Veelen who retired 31 January 2017


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr January Mokgonoane who retired 28 February 2017


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miss Magriet Lee who retired 28 February 2017

Magriet was head of the UP Medical Library since I started working here in 1989. She is known and appreciated by all, always pushing herself for the sake of the team and the clients. Magriet blended Faculty and Library into a relationship marked by mutual respect and support. Not a surprise that her farewell function was one arranged by the Medical Library and the Faculty together.

On Tuesday afternoon, 28th of March, a lovely function took place at CPR, the Faculty Cafeteria, well-known for its catering and elegance. Our newly appointed Dean, Tiaan van Jaarsveld, opened the function with an appreciation of the work Magriet had done and her support of the research process. Capability and professionalism were part of his image  of Magriet. The Dean accentuated the important part the Library played in the Faculty, a safe haven for students.

Prof Di Manning handed over a gift and a basket of flowers to Magriet, a symbol of appreciation from the Faculty of Health Sciences for all the loyal years given to personnel and students. Myleen Oosthuizen had a word on the very human nature of Magriet as a leader and mentor. Believing in team work, Magriet, although head of the Library, kept on fulfilling her role as information specialist for the Dept of Psychiatry. Magriet received a gift from her colleagues as a token of her caring, supporting and inspiring leadership over the years.

Magriet, still short of breath after the major bypass surgery she had undergone a month or two earlier, used the opportunity to share her years as one of the Faculty of Health Sciences.  She appreciated the role the Faculty had played in the development of the Library and especially the role that Prof Jan van der Merwe, a previous Dean of the Faculty, had played in her career and personal development. It was he who started the practice of sending Library personnel to international conferences, believing that this would enhance their outlook and insight into information management, to the advantage of the Faculty. She looked back to different career highlights, such as the writing of ‘The Merensky Story’, an autobiography of Hans Merensky, his career successes and contributions to the University of Pretoria. 

The afternoon was a lovely way of thanking Magriet for all she stood for, all she had done and all the differences she had made in people’s lives. We wish her all the best to enjoy her love of music and travel and life.

From the wise Sophia Loren I quote:

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”


Mrs Antoinette Lourens who retired 30 April 2017.

Goodbye message by Antoinette Lourens

In the journey of life you meet several people who are hard to forget. I am glad to have met so many people like this at Onderstepoort. When I got here so many years ago in 1991, I would never have realised how connected I would be to such a warm and diverse community of people.  

It was an extremely enriching experience to work at UP and I will always cherish every day of my work at the library and always keep these fond memories alive.

Since retirement marks the end of working for someone else and the beginning of living for yourself, I can now do the things that I’ve always wanted to. So in future no more targets or stretched targets, no more goals, no more KPIs and no more meetings.

I wish you all a smooth sailing ahead and a path full of joy. May all your dreams come true and all the best for your future endeavours.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ms Mahlodi (Friendah) Mojela who resigned 28 February 2017.

 

- Author Elmar Snyman

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