Golfers gather on the green in aid of ‘ol’ Dennis’
"The day arrived at last. This morning I awoke with a joy in my heart because at last, we were going to have the golf day for our Neighbourhood Watch fire truck."
Despite the temperamental weather Vryheid has experienced recently, Saturday was a glorious day at the Vryheid Country Club.
Golfers gathered in their numbers in support of the Vryheid Neighbourhood Watch Golf Day on October 5, in aid of the restoration of ‘ol’ Dennis’, the neighbourhood watch’s vintage fire truck.
On the morning, organisation chairman, André Rheder expressed his excitement.
“The day arrived at last. This morning I awoke with a joy in my heart because at last, we were going to have the golf day for our Neighbourhood Watch fire truck.”
Explaining the motivation for the golf day, Rheder delved into the history of the fire truck, its role in the local neighbourhood watch and the benefit it would serve to the community.
“Earlier this year, the Fire Protection Agency donated the fire truck to the Neighbourhood Watch, to assist the community and our local fire department if they needed help or to carry water to assist the firemen of AbaQulusi Municipality. Initially, the fire truck – affectionately referred to as Dennis – was donated by the Indian community and Idris Meer (the FPA).”
However, Rheder continued, Dennis was more suited to tarred roads and was not as effective in areas such as farms.
This then paved the way for the donation of the fire truck by the FPA’s Johan Botha, although this machine was badly rusted and in dire need of mechanical restoration.
“As you all know, we as Vryheid Neighbourhood Watch do not have an income and do not charge for our services, so there were very little funds in our kitty. We had a meeting among the committee members and invited people with experience to assist us, in making the right decision as to what we would need to adequately equip the fire truck.”
At this point, former Vryheid Neighbourhood Watch committee member and avid golfer, Gerrie van der Merwe suggested a golf day be hosted at the Vryheid Country Club to generate the funds needed to bring the fire truck back to a fully operational state.
“Gerrie arranged with Vryheid Country Club about the date and the format,” stated Rheder. “We got Elize Tschirpig on board to help with the arrangements, as well as some members from the Neighbourhood Watch and I started by going out to businesses to collect some sponsorship for the golf day.”
Rheder recalled with disbelief his encounter with Riaan ‘Darra’ Louw from a local truck and bus company.
“Mr Louw was the first person that I spoke to, and he really floored me with his response when he said he wasn’t willing to just be a sponsor and donate a few Rand. He actually said to me, ‘André, I will do you one better than being a sponsor for a few Rand, I will repair your truck free of charge!’ and I couldn’t believe he would take on such a monumental task without even seeing the truck.”
Jacques and Francis Terblanche, from a local transport company, offered to store the truck at their premises and provided a workforce to assist with the mechanical upkeep of the truck.
“Then I started pestering other people for assistance,” chuckled Rheder.
The full list of sponsors is available on the Vryheid Neighbourhood Watch Facebook page. At the end of 18 holes, it was Jerry Gunther and his partner, Chris Haywood, who walked away as the first prize winners of the Four Ball Better Ball Scramble Drive competition.
Vryheid Neighbourhood Watch thanked all who supported the golf day.
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Also read: FPA donates firetruck to Vryheid Neighbourhood Watch
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