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Community Liaison/Marketing & Communications manager Charleen le Roux has been pulling her weight in the KGE offices since last year and has now earned her permanent appointment,
While brand-new Operations manager Piet van Heerden took up his post in the beginning of March; read on for some inside info on these two HOA-insiders.
Ladies first
Charleen has been a permanent George resident since 2019, although she has lived here before while working for Media24 some decades ago. An only child, Charleen was born in Bethlehem; by the time she turned three, the family moved to the Maclear area where she startea school at Ugie Primary.
When the time came to go to high school, Charleen and her mother traded the Eastern Cape for the Western Cape, where she matriculated at Strand High.
Her school career is studded with accomplishments and service records, such as representing the Junior Tourism Board of Somerset West, being an ACW cell group leader, and school prefect. Aged 15 to 17; she went on missionary and relief trips with Love Southern Africa during June holidays, travelling to places like Malawi, Venda, and Zambia. ‘After school I did a Service Year for Christ, doing missionary work and stage productions at schools all over the Eastern Cape.
‘During that time, I was blessed to join the British missionary organisation Novimost in Bosnia for a few months. We worked with teenaged children traumatised by the war – an incredible eye-opener for me as an 18-year-old.’
After her gap year, Charleen studied PR at Boland College in Stellenbosch. ‘But I found it quite boring, so switched to Travel and Tourism studies. One’s student years are the best and I enjoyed every second, staying at Rozenhof girls’ residence.
‘In my second year, I was chosen to serve on the House Committee, where my portfolio was Arts and Culture. The next year, I was on the Student Council as Arts and Culture representative and was the Baptism Captain for first-year student initiations – such fun! I also represented our college on the Stellenbosch Tourism Board.’
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Working across the waters
After Stellenbosch, Charleen spent two years in London, where she earned experience in the medical and transport industries. ‘Apart from an admin position at the pension department of London Rail and Transport, I worked for Dr Trixie Pieterse as a receptionist at one of her South African Mediclinic branches in Putney.
‘For a short while, I was an audio typist in the oncology department of an NHS hospital … it was horrendous! I had to deal with doctors from all over the world, with the wildest of accents.’ It may have been hard at the time, but these trials surely helped Charleen to become the resilient and resourceful person she is today. The jobs, qualifications and kudos included in her CV are far too numerous to list here.
Blessed by family and ‘Abba Father’
Charleen’s father, who was a farmer, passed away in 2014, but her mother is still alive and has been a real estate agent for over 40 years. ‘My daughter Miannay has just turned eight. She attends George South Primary School and is an absolute blessing in our lives.’ A little bird told The BUZZard that ‘Mom’ then celebrated her birthday on 20 March – belated congrats!
‘Garth and I got married in November 2023, so it’s still a relatively new union, but he is my rock. Last, but actually most importantly, I believe in Abba Father, and our family serves Him in all we do.’
Work and play
Charleen loves music. ‘During my high school years, I did backup vocals for a band called HEART and we performed at schools and churches, sometimes even at weddings. In college, I occasionally sang at functions and Gospel bashes and was later a lead vocalist at church events.
‘I haven’t sung in a long time now, but I’ll twist Marina’s (Flear, Kingswood Finance Manager) arm to start playing the piano again, and then I’ll just hum along, she smiles. But Charleen admits she can’t bake to save her life – ‘even though I had Home Economics from Grade 8 to matric. The teachers eventually begged me to consider another subject …
‘I really enjoyed Art at school, and come from a very artistic and language-oriented family on my grandmother’s side. Her brother, Ghoete “Ollie” Olwagen, was Huisgenoot subeditor for many years. His daughter, Mariëtte Olwagen, has spent most of her career as content manager, editor, and layout artist for Die Burger.’
Charleen says she is very excited to be part of the Kingswood team. The position of Community Liaison/ Marketing and Communications manager is a new role created by the Kingswood HOA, and it’s clear they’ve found the right candidate. ‘I’m passionate about helping people and feel very privileged to form part of the HOA team. It’s a small but highly professional and talented team.’
Meet Piet: Kingswood’s peerless new ops ace
When chatting to Piet van Heerden in his mother tongue, one wants to peg that accent at once. ‘I grew up on a Karoo farm close to Victoria West, and matriculated at Paarl Boys’ High.’ So that explains the gentle fall of vowels when speaking Afrikaans. But switching to English is effortless for this highly qualified, well-travelled addition to Kingswood’s HOA outfit.
Piet kicked off his studies at the University of Stellenbosch (US) with a BCom in Economics and Management Science. Five years later he was back in the Eikestad to attain his MBA from the US Business School, scoring distinctions in Financial Evaluation and General Management.
These qualifications were capped by a course in Advanced Project Management from the University of Cape Town in 2017. But in-between studies, Piet has built up a CV that is as diverse as it is impressive. The golden thread, however, is a focus on management and planning.
A nutshell version of his work history starts off with a stint in Gauteng as distribution planner for the Super Group Supply Chain Partner, then managing a similar portfolio for Afrox; Piet was key account manager at Wolwefontein Farm in the Karoo and operations/ general manager for Just Water.
While living in Centurion for three years, he also worked in the investment industry. ‘I love the investment game,’ he admits – and that brings to mind Piet’s WhatsApp profile picture, showing him with his hand on the horn of the Wall Street Bull – the famous bronze sculpture in New York’s financial district. And what’s not to love about a bullish market?
From March 2014 to September 2022, Piet served as Operations manager for the Bexgroup, running operations at depots as far flung as Jan Kempdorp in the Northern Cape, Morreesburg in the Swartland, and Vereeniging in the Vaal Triangle. ‘So I was travelling quite a bit, and responsible for dozens of staff at the different depots while working on business strategies for the group,’ he explains. One of Piet’s most recent forays is being co-owner of project management company RenovaFix – a role that helped hone his skills to perfection for the portfolio he is now charged with at Kingswood.
Coming ‘home’ to George
During his nine-year stint as ops manager with Bexgroup, Piet directed the site managers at depots in three provinces from the company’s HQ in Stellenbosch. While building up RenovaFix, he relocated to Somerset West, where he still owns a home. But the Van Heerden clan has a long connection with the Garden Route.
‘My parents retired to George after selling the farm, and have lived at Kingswood since the early 2010s, while other family members such as my cousin and aunt have also moved to the town or surrounds. We share a holiday home on the Island in Groot Brakrivier with family and, although we don’t crowd one another, our holidays together are always fun.’
Sport and travel genes
Piet inherited his dad’s competitive golfing gene and played at provincial level for Boland while at ‘Boishaai’. ‘I’m passionate about sports and have loved playing golf from a very young age.’ Padel and running are also favourite pastimes, and he regards the Knysna half-marathon as a highlight. ‘Sports are big in my life, but golf remains number one.’ Well, sir, it seems you’ve come to the right place …
Other than hitting the golf course several times a week, Piet enjoys spending time at the ocean, eating good food and collecting fine wines – not to mention the tasting and pairing of them with the aforementioned food.
He is also no novice when it comes to procuring something wholesome and home-reared for the pot. ‘While growing up on a farm, we used to hunt quite regularly.’ But these days, he says, time doesn’t really allow for frequenting the hunting grounds.
Finally, Piet loves travelling and, apart from the New York trip mentioned above, has also visited Chicago. When considering foreign favourites outside of the States, he says Greece has delivered memorable adventures – especially his time spent in the capital of Athens and on the island Santorini.
When it comes to top destinations in South Africa, Piet rates Leopard Creek Golf Estate in Mpumalanga as right up there. ‘But most of the time I prefer the coast – anywhere close to the sea. I love the buzz of Cape Town’s Waterfront, Clifton and Camps Bay, but the West Coast is just as special.’
Fortunately, from his new Kingswood base, the closest beach is but a hop and skip away. But most probably, when not busy grabbing the ops-bull by its horns, you’ll find Piet perfecting his game on Kingswood’s gorgeous golf course.
