General BPS meeting ahead of Christmas festivities

Dozens of Bank Pensioners Society (BPS) members trickled in at the Ridgecrest Family Church on 23 August to iron out issues around the upcoming Christmas tour later this year.

BPS (otherwise known as the Financial Institutions Pensioners Society) chairman Manna Fourie opened the meeting by encouraging the members to invite fellow senior citizens to join the society through word-of-mouth, in order to increase membership and generate petty cash.

“We would like to see more faces when we gather for our meetings and would love to have more members. So we meet to discuss ways to increase membership with ways that interest the majority. BPS is not exclusive – it is for every pensioner and retired person that is looking to get active with community projects.”

Fourie reiterated that member participation and attendance was crucial to keeping the activities going.

He added that late cancellations were extremely problematic as catering had already been supplied for everyone.

Ideas and suggestions were thrown in the mix for the year-end function including food, transportation and refreshments.

With the festive season just around the corner, the question of organising a holiday trip came up, presented by John Brandow from Fouriesburg Country Tours.

During his slideshow presentation, John went into details about providing luxurious and comfortable travelling measures that did not pinch the wallet.

“There is a huge demand for tours in the Southern Hemisphere and we will be adding more packages to Tanzania, Namibia and Namaqualand. Our tours are generally cheaper, so a package to Botswana would cost around R13 250 and includes everything –accommodation and food. We provide special diets and we are walkers and wheelchair friendly,” Brandow explained.

The next BPS meeting is scheduled for November to discuss the nitty-gritty of planning the Christmas function.

Details: Bank Pensioners Society/Financial Institution Pensioners Society 011 791 4827.