When all is said and done, at the end the day, it is the obstacles we as a nation have faced and overcome together, which made this year stand out.
But many are not acquainted with the dedicated men and women running the various communications departments, who ensured you were kept abreast of what was happening from a municipal, medical, education and government perspective this year.
These people play an intimate role in communication between said entities and the media—and for the most part, go unacknowledged by the community. Therefore, the Newcastillian – Online News, in honour of these irreplaceable people, takes the time to thank, uplift and shine a positive light on them.
Newcastle Municipality
Mlungisi Khumalo and his team at the Newcastle Municipality’s Communications Department—the local government entity is not without its flaws. However, no matter what is thrown at the municipality, the highly skilled Khumalo and his team never shy away from the challenge. They are the reason our municipality is more transparent than so many others throughout the province—this was even recently acknowledged when this hardworking team proudly walked away with a communications award.
Newcastle SAPS
The South African Police Service—Newcastle SAPS Corporate Communications and Liaison Officer, Lizzy Arumugam, is diligent and committed to her job. Lizzy has streamlined communications with the media far beyond other SAPS communications departments outside of Newcastle. Without Arumugam, there would be little official communication from the local SAPS.
Mediclinic Newcastle
Japie Greyling, the Hospital General Manager, Mathys Bornman, the Doctor Relationship Manager and Nondumiso Mbhele, the Patient Experience Manager, are three exceptionally dedicated individuals who have evolved communications between the medical sector and the public. Through their commitment, you are able to stay up to date with news from this sector.
Emergency Medical Services
Newcastle owes the following brave people a great deal of thanks for several reasons, of which one is for the information they supply us with.
These passionate, true Newcastillians are:
- WATCO Emergency Medical Services — Jan-Hen van Vuuren and his team
- ER24 – Willem Rossouw and his team
- TRIVS Ambulance Services – Reshma Maharaj and her team
Newcastle Schools
Through working closely with the local education sector, strong communication between the schools and the community has blossomed. This is thanks to the dedicated faculty members ensuring the various communities are au fait with school news and successes.
In Newcastle, we have the following people to thank:
- Drakensberg Primary School: Pieter Hanekom and Stephani Truter
- St Dominics Newcastle: Jolandie Jacobs
- Ferrum High School: Charmaine Myburgh and Charissa Roodt
- Amajuba School: Johann Marais
Anonymous sources
You know who you are, and we genuinely do appreciate you. Your input and information has assisted us at the Newcastillian-Online News in publishing unique and integral content, on often sensitive subjects.
On behalf of Pixelfish Marketing and the Newcastillian – Online News, we all sincerely thank every one of you! Through your committed work, we have had the opportunity to evolve media connectivity like never before in the town’s history. Exciting times are ahead, and we look forward to a highly productive 2021 with you.
Authors: Quinton Boucher and Calvin Swemmer
Edited: Calvin Swemmer
