The Auckland Park Residents Association (APRA) is prone to fighting, infighting, fiercely fighting, you name it. It's not surprising, given that a smallish suburb of about 4000 residents has suddenly swollen to more than double that size, mainly because of university residences.
Presiding over this rapid change and the challenges it raises specially in terms of the strain on ageing municipal resources is, amongst others, Neal Gooch, an America resident of the once flourishing suburb who is given to smoothing over simmering feuds and dissatisfaction while going all out to resolve issues.
Neal has served in the APRA executive since 2014 and chairs the Auckland Park Security Collaboration and is currently helping to launch a pilot of the Johannesburg Safercity initiative. He addressed the club on Engaging In Your Community.
He is an ex-Rotarian and said who he is and loves and cares about overlaps very much with what Rotary does.
"Like Rotary, we live local and think global. We're the live, work, play and most of all serve kind of people."
Neal and his wife, Jennifer, have five young adult sons and have lived in Johannesburg for the past 20 years. He hails from Delaware in the USA and he did a business degree at the University of Georgia on a football scholarship.
Residents have to deal with not only the usual issues of electricity and water supply. "In South Africa we also have to deal with crime and have to deal with grime."
"I often feel overwhelmed (by what we're facing) but I work things through," he said.
"We're trying to make students a part of our community, a community where, to put it bluntly, a lot of old white people are facing the reality of a lot of young black people. We're getting on pretty well."
In response Judy Sligcher quoted Rotary President Jennifer Jones: In order to live in the kind of society we want, we have to help build it.
Jankees Sligcher met the Canadian at the Zone Institution in Abidjan, Ivory Coast a week ago.
There was lots to celebrate when Mpho Mogotse attended the meeting after being crowned as Mrs Universe Africa. She was congratulated by Joan Sainsbury and Helene Bramwell, who chaired the meeting, which was followed by a board meeting.
Mpho will be travelling to South Korea in December to represent the continent at the annual pageant.
The week also brought a touch of sadness with the passing of Olivia Schoombie following complications after an operation. She will be sadly missed.
Dates to Diarise: The cleanup of the Braamfontein Spruit is on Saturday and will be the main topic of discussion at the meeting this week. Be there to hear what you can do to help with this very laudable project, spearheaded by Babette Gallard and Paul Chinn.
The annual Golf Day is on 21 October at the Parkview Golf Club. The end-of-year function has been booked at Marks Park for Friday, 3 December and will take place in the Bowling Club Hall as we did pre-Covid. The newly formed Social Committee promises a fun-filled evening.
A Thought for the Week: If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are. - T.S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)
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