Obituaries
Pieter
Bekker,
operations
director of
BON Hotel
International
West Africa,
has passed
away. Pieter worked in
the hotel industry for 40
years. During his career,
Pieter held several general
management positions
at numerous hotels,
including at two Protea
Hotels in Nigeria. He later
became a regional director
for the group in Lagos
before being appointed to
the board of BON Hotels
International West Africa.
Maria
‘Gussie’
O’Sullivan,
former
director of
Sure Millway
Travel,
passed away
on July 3 after a long
and brave battle with
leukaemia. Maria joined
Sure Millway Travel in
1982, and was the right
hand ‘man’ of Derrick
Callanan. After Derrick
died, Maria was made
director of Sure Millway
Travel. “She was an
amazing person, wise
and discerning. If you
had met Maria, you would
never have forgotten her,”
said Sandy Remmington,
accounts manager at
Sure Millway Travel. A
memorial service for
Maria was held on July
8. She is survived by her
husband and three sons.
Mango, K-C and BidAir partner to help PE
MANGO Airlines teamed
up with Kimberley-Clark
(K-C) and BidAir to provide
essential items to the
fire-ravaged community of
Port Elizabeth on June 28.
Mango, BidAir and K-C flew
320 packs of toilet tissue
and 300 packs of Huggies
Nappy Pants to Missionvale
Care Centre in PE. The
Missionvale Care Centre
provides services such as
basic adult education, adult
skills development, HIV/
AIDS awareness, counselling,
and nutrition and wellness
services amongst others.
Appointments
Eluan Rabe has
been appointed gm for
the Menlyn Boutique in
Pretoria. Her duties will
involve greeting visitors
and ensuring guests are
satisfied with the hotel and
its service. Eluan has more
than 14 years’ experience
in the hospitality industry,
having worked at Seasons
in Africa, and Orion Hotels
and Resorts. She also
oversaw the operation of
the De Graaff Grassland
Bushman Lodge in
Botswana.
The Carlson Rezidor
Hotel Group has appointed
Mark Willis area senior
vp for the Middle East,
Turkey and Africa. He was
previously area vp for
the Middle East and subSaharan
Africa. Mark will
now be responsible for the
entire African continent.
He has more than 20
years’ experience in the
hospitality industry, 15 with
Carlson Rezidor.
Karen Dewhurst has
been appointed new
senior travel consultant
at Sikeleli Africa Safaris,
at the Victoria Falls office.
Karen has over a decade
of experience working in
the hospitality, travel and
tourism industry. Prior
to joining Sikeleli Africa
Safaris, she worked in a
variety of roles, including
the British Horseracing
Authority and as an events
manager for Mitchells
and Butlers in London
Leicester Square. After
which, she returned home
and started working at
Zambezi Explorer as gm.
She then joined Safari
Destinations as safari
consultant for Zimbabwe.
She holds diplomas from
the American Hotel and
Lodging Association in
management, events
organising and wedding
planning. Karen also
received several
certificates from the
Hospitality Training
Institute in Harare.
