FLIPPING BOOK CHRONICLE 2024

usually twice a year, at scheduled dinners, cocktail evenings and golf days. Given the number of OMs in East Africa, with most of them knowing each other well, a group of East Africa OMs scheduled and led these gatherings as a way for OMs to stay in touch. A lot of OMs also pass through Nairobi, Kenya, for work and holidays, and the East Africa OMs would usually reach out and meet up with these visitors. Following the restructuring of the Old Boys’ Club and creation of OM+, the East Africa OMs, who had been operating in a very informal, ad hoc manner, required guidance from the central committee on how to restart in East Africa in a way that aligned with the OM branch and affiliate network. This required an understanding of the difference between branches and affiliates, and guidance on how to set up in East Africa for the benefit of the OMs. Michael Scott, who has been leading the gatherings in East Africa, engaged with Ron, Aphiwe and Sean, who provided the guidance required. Michael visited Balgowan in September to see the school and all of the developments, and to meet with Ron and Aphiwe. The clarity provided led to the creation of the East Africa affiliate, which provides structure for the network of OMs in East Africa. With the first gathering scheduled for 6 November in Nairobi, the East Africa affiliate developed a constitution to guide its OMs. The constitution was discussed with OMs to ensure it served all OMs in a tangible way. It intends to provide guidance to the East Africa affiliate with regard to leadership, leadership term, gatherings, causes to support, growth of the network of OMs, and improved engagement with Michaelhouse. It will ensure the longevity and continuity of the affiliate. has been a good year for the Johannesburg chapter of the club, with our two main events drawing a strong contingent of Old Boys. Importantly, we are starting to get a wider range of age groups coming to events, with our more experienced campaigners joining the youth to fuel a wide range of stories from our common heritage. This mix is vital to the club and ensures that tradition and change are more seamlessly merged to ensure the heart of the school is retained from generation to generation . WhatsApp has proved to be a key tool for communicating effectively with the Joburg community of OMs. Since its inception in March 2023, our WhatsApp group has grown to 291 members. Half the battle of succeeding with the club’s initiatives and events is making sure people actually know about them, and this channel – combined with OM+ and traditional email – has been an important improvement in the running of the Joburg branch and the club in general. A good example of this was the broadcast of the requirement of a kit sponsor for Old Boys’ sevens team: we put out the request on the group and found a sponsor from Adventures 2 024 The East Africa affiliate is invigorated and looking forward to 2025 and the growth of the OM network. JOHANNESBURG Written by Michael Stannard (East, 2004)

(East, 2009), the dinner was an overwhelming success. We managed to book out Mama Luciana’s restaurant in Glenashley, and the venue and staff provided an experience that had our members talking for weeks after. Just short of 100 OMs were present at the dinner to receive an update on all things school related, which is always an important element to these gatherings. The newly appointed Director of the Old Boys’ Club, Ron Rutland, spoke about his incredible adventures, and the evening gave the members the chance to get to know him. As an event, the dinner serves an important purpose in getting the members of our branch together in a social environment to network and engage. This was definitely achieved. The school provided a number of lucky-draw prizes, and the money raised was another bonus for the evening. Towards the end of the year, Guy Cronje (Tatham, 2007) and I took over the organising of the annual golf day, and once again the amount of support from the rest of the committee and the members was incredible. We had 104 golfers at the Umhlali Country Club on a beautiful November afternoon as the players enjoyed the favourable weather and the ice-cold beverages. The golf day remains our branch’s most important fundraising event and through entries, raffle prizes and our auction, controlled by one of South Africa’s premier auctioneers, Tom Hodgson (Mackenzie, 2007), we raised more than we had set out to. During the year the branch started a Last Thursday event at Waxy O’Connors in Umdloti, and this will gather steam in 2025 as we look to make monthly get-togethers a common occurrence. The Durban branch continues to go from strength to strength, and the most encouraging part is the vast cross section of Old Boys involved in our events. We have the next generation of Old Boys coming through and contributing to our branch, and this bodes incredibly well for the future. The Durban branch prides itself on being a more laid-back environment, and with the help of an incredible committee we cannot wait for 2025. brought about a resumption of the East Africa Michaelhouse Old Boys’ chapter, having restructured and adopted a new approach that aligns with the greater Old Boys’ Club and community. The reconfigured structure saw the inception of the Michaelhouse East Africa Old Boys’ Affiliate, providing more structure, reaching a greater network of OMs in East Africa, creating accountability and ensuring longevity. There are approximately 50 OMs in East Africa who range from finishing Michaelhouse in the 1970s all the way to 2023. The community spans Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. Uganda is also part of the East Africa affiliate but the affiliate is not aware of any OMs in Uganda. As the affiliate materialized and grew, more OMs from East Africa reached out to join the network. 2 024 EAST AFRICA Written by Michael Scott (Tatham, 2006)

Prior to the current structure of the Old Boys’ Club, before the Covid pandemic, the East Africa OMs would meet periodically,

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