BLOEMFONTEIN - Over 8 000 convention-goers from across the Free State, Northern Cape, and North-West provinces enjoyed three days of Biblical training this past weekend at the Toyota Stadium as part of an international series of such events. In Bloemfontein, the programme was presented simultaneously in Sesotho, English, and Afrikaans.

Emmanuel Chofor, whose family is originally from Cameroon, said of the warmth and hospitality they experienced among fellow believers: “We felt at home with our brothers and sisters.” 

The programme helped attendees to apply the principle “Love Never Fails” from 1 Corinthians 13:8, in practical, everyday ways. Biblical examples from the lives of Joseph and Israelite kings David and Josiah were used to illustrate modern methods of cultivating godly love within the congregation as well as to “neighbours” who are not fellow believers. Josiah’s example of faith was shown through a two-part feature film, which can be downloaded in the JW Library app.  

On Saturday morning, baptismal candidates presented themselves for water immersion; in total, 85 were baptised.  

For more information on this event, please visit the links below, or contact the local Media Host, Eugene Seegers (+27 83 324 9217 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.:

• https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/conventions/video-clip-international-convention-report
• https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/conventions
• https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/united-states/Phoenix-United-States-2019-Love-Never-Fails-International-Convention/#?insight[search_id]=dbfe6b12-13c6-49a5-9cdd-a3306c21c71e&insight[search_result_index]=5
• https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/2019-convention-program

ENGEN PITCH & POLISH IS CELEBRATING 10 YEARS!

Pitch to win R80 000 in cash for your biz! Running your own business? Want to run your own business? ENGEN Pitch & Polish is the platform you need to launch yourself on to the path of success.

Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, ENGEN Pitch & Polish is a national entrepreneurial workshop and competition programme that – so far – has helped over 10 000 entrepreneurs improve the way they pitch their businesses to potential investors. As all entrepreneurs know, a perfectly polished pitch is one of the keys to growing and succeeding in business.

The ten-year edition of the programme is being hosted in partnership with Engen Petroleum, Nedbank and Raizcorp. You can register as a delegate to attend the workshop or – if you feel you have what it takes – you can complete an online entry form to be selected as a contestant.

During one exhilarating, fun, exciting and free day, participants undergo comprehensive and interactive entrepreneurial training on how to pitch like a pro! The session is facilitated by Justin Cohen, best-selling author, international speaker and TV talk-show host.

After the training session, contestants pitch their ideas or businesses to the whole audience. This is where things get really interesting, with both Justin and the audience providing feedback on how pitches can be improved.

The regional winners of each leg will have the opportunity to be crowned the ultimate pitch champion at the final glittering round of the competition held in Johannesburg later this year.

There are many funders and investors invited to the final and, over the years, finalists (not necessarily the winners) have received millions of rands in investments and hundreds of thousands of rands in grants.Book your place now for the Bloemfontein workshop on 27 July.

SMS “Pitch” to 43719 (SMSs charged at 50c) or visit www.pitchandpolish.com to complete an entry form, and maybe you will find that R1 million investment you desire.

FREE STATE, BLOEMFONTEIN, MASELSPOORT RESORT – Toyota WARRIOR saw approximately one thousand Obstacle Racers from the Free State and around the country pull into Bloemfontein’s Maselspoort Resort this past weekend to compete in the Free State’s first-ever Toyota WARRIOR, powered by Reebok. Already well-established in Gauteng, Western Cape and KZN, attracting thousands per event, Obstacle Racing is poised to take off in Free State.  WARRIOR Race #2 course was built around the Maselspoort Resort by Warrior course designer, Jono Hart. Heavy rains prior to the event forced event organisers, Advendurance, to change the course and create a lap race, which shortened the running element, but doubled the number of obstacles athletes had to do. As it turned out, this version made this race more spectator-friendly, which is always a key factor for this type of sport. 

Course designer, Jono Hart, said “Toyota WARRIOR Maselspoort was outstanding. The venue was green and fresh with a totally different terrain, but unfortunately, heavy rains over a number of days prior to the event forced us to change the route. This created the lap version for the 2 longer races – Commando and Black Ops, which slightly shortened the running element but drastically increased the obstacles. In the end, Commandos had 40 obstacles over 9km and Black Ops Elite had 54 obstacles over 13km.”  The massive monster-slide, Slippery Dip Super-Tube, will be remembered as the highlight of the weekend for every athlete that was faced with it.  Toyota Warrior #2 Maselspoort attracted all the top-ranked OCR athletes in the country.

The Men’s Black Ops Elite winner and ranked 1st in OCR South Africa, was Claude Eksteen (Supa Mama); Race #1 winner and ranked 2nd in the country, Thomas van Tonder (Jeep Team SA) came second, with Team Nevarest’s Greg Avierinos, in 3rd, Armin Botha in 4th and Trevor Lagerway in 5th.  Said Eksteen, “Today, as in the past 3 years, was an awesome but tough battle between Thomas van Tonder and myself and to get the win is a sweet victory. I loved the venue and the lap version, which made it very interesting. Second time round you get better at it. I’m very chuffed to have the win.”  Winner of Women’s Black Ops Elite Gold medal was physiotherapist from KZN, Carla van Huyssteen (Team Nevarest), who is also an accomplished hockey player, mountain biker and trail runner with many stage and ultra-trail podiums under her belt. Sabrina Daolio (BattleRush) took Silver, with Race #1 winner, Trish Eksteen (Supa Mama) taking Bronze.  Said van Huyssteen after the race, “I enjoyed the venue. The lap racing was very exciting, and mentally tough. I quite enjoyed the lap setup. I got better and learned from my previous lap.

The trail was fun and technical with a bit of varied terrain around the resort, so all in all it was a momentous day for me taking the win against the OCR greats! And the Monster Slide was awesome!” In addition to the honours and the R10 000 prize purse, the two Black Ops Elite winners, Van Huyssteen and Eksteen, each get to drive a WARRIOR-branded Toyota RAV4 until the next event in Tierpoort on the 17th of March 2018.  In the Commando Elite race, also affected by the rain, the course ended up being just under 2 laps - 45 obstacles over a 9km trail. In the men’s race, Anrich Zimmerman took the gold medal, with Kelvin van Wyk taking the silver medal, and Calen Hastie taking the bronze. In the women’s Commando Elite race, Tate Stewart took 1st place, Kaelee Lushington took 2nd, and Sammy Nel 3rd place.  Unaffected by the course changes, the Rookie Elites ran a 5km trail lap with 15 obstacles and saw Nick Oberholzer, Cayde de Waal and Casper de Villiers take 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Men’s. In the women’s, Monique Els came 1st with Megan McLuckie in 2nd and Megan van Tonder in 3rd.  

The high-intensity Sprint Race and Sprint Team Race is a leg- and lung-busting 200m dash over 10 obstacles. The Sprint Race saw Dominque D’Oliveria take the win beating 2nd placed Cindy Wills and 3rd placed Sabrina Daolio. In the men’s, Juan-Pierre Mare took the win with Trevor Lagerway in 2nd and Tom Basson in 3rd.  The Sprint Teams was won by Kaapse Klopse with Team Nevarest in 2nd and Liquid Salt/BattleRush in 3rd.  Says Fritz Pienaar, CEO of Advendurance, “This is the Free State’s first Toyota WARRIOR and what a fantastic venue and hospitality we received from everyone. We will be back. Having to change the course last minute is just how it goes. By doing this, we introduced lap racing, which ended up being awesome. The spectators loved it and the athletes did what they do best and raced whatever was in front of them. That’s the sign of true champions. We can’t wait to get back to the Free State!” Results - Toyota Warrior #1

Black Ops Elite

Men

1. Claude Eksteen            01:29:16
2. Thomas van Tonder    01:30:39
3. Greg Avierinos            01:31:52 

Women

1. Carla van Huyssteen    01:38:34
2. Sabrina Daolio             01:49:06
3. Trish Eksteen               01:50:01 

Commando Elite

Men

1. Anrich Zimmerman      01:06:50
2. Kelvin van Wyk            01:06:54
3. Calen Hastie                01:11:10 

Women

1. Tate Stewart                 02:02:34
2. Kaelee Lushington       02:04:29
3. Sammy Nel                   02:10:08 

Rookie Elite

Men

1. Nick Oberholzer          00:32:03
2. Cayde de Waal            00:32:05
3. Casper de Villiers        00:32:54

 Women

1. Monique Els                00:34:34
2. Megan McLuckie        00:36:06
3. Megan van Tonder      00:39:01

###Written and distributed by Hot Salsa Media on behalf of Warrior PTY LTD.

Image requests and enquiries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. here - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xj5vdmopq9pjiww/AABCFuzBFsvw67rcMqFOtgSja?dl=0Image cedit – Kevin @ Be Snapped  

Regus, the global specialist in serviced office space, expanded their flexible offering to two more South African cities in December 2017, growing their presence to 3000 plus locations in 120 countries. The new centres in Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg Bird Sanctuary, will encourage and support business growth in the agricultural, manufacturing, services and tourism sectors these cities are known for.

Riding the global co-working wave and tracking the shift towards remote working worldwide, Regus has maintained its strategic objective to support growth in oft-forgotten areas. Grounded in rich history, both cities are centres for innovation, housing some of the top South African universities and base of growth for agriculture and manufacturing businesses.

A recent World Bank Report showed lagging growth numbers projected for South Africa compared to other emerging markets, but added that the agricultural sector as well as manufacturing and mining sectors showed strong growth. Regus provides co-working and meeting spaces to accommodate the increasing demand for flexible, technologically advanced, professional work areas.

The centres support corporates, start-ups, entrepreneurs, students, freelancers, business tourists and creatives with an affordable, all-inclusive package as they grow and tap into the agricultural and manufacturing opportunities in these areas. The new centres will provide cutting-edge business solutions for these cities with lucrative business interests and the opportunity for growth into areas like Durban and Johannesburg.

Bloemfontein, the judicial capital of the country, with economic hub Gauteng in easy reach by car or plane, will benefit from the professional meeting spaces, catering, fast internet, networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities provided by the business centres. Served by two airports, this centre is also an ideal location for business travellers.

The capital of and second-largest city in Kwazulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, is a hub to the aluminium, agricultural, manufacturing and tourism sectors. Its proximity to Durban, one of the busiest ports in Africa, results in promising local and international business opportunities.

According to Joanne Bushell, Country Manager Regus South Africa, “The two centres join an established network of professional centres supporting entrepreneurial, small business and corporate growth in South Africa. We identified the need for world-class working spaces that will support business growth, in these charming cities, straddling the world of cultural heritage and big business.”With more centres set to open in South Africa in 2018, Regus’ growth in South Africa is not slowing down.

About Regus

Regus is the leading global workspace provider. We have built an unparalleled network of office, co-working and meeting spaces for companies to use in every city in the world. It’s an infrastructure to support every business opportunity - a global infrastructure built for businesses.Our network of workspaces enables businesses to operate anywhere, without the need for set-up costs or capital investment. It provides our customers with immediate cost benefits and the opportunity to fully outsource their office portfolio.It’s a network designed to enhance productivity and connect 1.5 million like-minded professionals: an instant global community, and a place to belong.Our network of office, co-working and meeting spaces covers 3,000 locations in over 1,000 cities and over 100 countries, and serves 1.5 million members every month. For further information on Regus business centres, to find a global working environment near you:

Regus, the global specialist in serviced office space, are expanding their flexible offering to three more South African cities in December 2017, growing to 3000 plus locations worldwide with over 55 centres in South Africa. The opening of the new centres in Bloemfontein, Paarl and Pietermaritzburg, are part of a strategic focus to provide world-class workspaces and infrastructure, that will accelerate growth in small businesses and corporates in oft-forgotten, but booming areas. 

Since its expansion into South Africa, Regus has provided over 55 locations with co-working and meeting spaces to accommodate the increasing demand for flexible, technologically advanced, professional work areas. The centres support corporates, start-ups, entrepreneurs, students, freelancers, business tourists and creatives with an all-inclusive package at an affordable rate.

The new centres will provide cutting-edge business solutions for cities with lucrative business interests and tourism, the size of which, place a strain on local infrastructure. The timing of the opening provides start-ups and businesses the opportunity to commence 2018 with a fully equipped, professional working environment.

Bloemfontein, Free State

Hailed as legislative capital of the country, three major national highways converge in Bloemfontein, with economic hub Gauteng being the closest destination for travel by car or plane. The city’s relaxed atmosphere, bustling economy, busy university culture and lack of major corporates, place a strain on the local infrastructure. The new centre provides meeting spaces, catering, fast internet, networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities of global standards. Served by two airports, this centre is also an ideal location for business travellers. 

Paarl, Western Cape

This culture-rich, picturesque area in the Winelands, through no inclement of its own, has been identified as an area requiring support as a result of the local and international business travel born from the wine export industry. The new Regus centre will provide local businesses and international travellers with state of the art, professional, co-working spaces and impressive offices for corporates wishing to relocate from the busy mid-city or those implementing a flexible work policy.

Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu Natal

The unsung capital of Kwazulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg is a hub to the aluminium, agricultural, manufacturing and tourism sectors. Its proximity to Durban, one of the busiest ports in Africa, results in promising local business growth while maintaining some of its sleepy charm. This made it an obvious choice for Regus, who identified the need for professional, world-class working spaces that will support business growth in the area. 

According to Joanne Bushell, Country Manager Regus South Africa, “The three new Regus locations were strategically chosen to support areas in our country integral to the agricultural, manufacturing and services growth, but which often don’t have commensurate support of much-needed technological infrastructure and services. We have seen our business centres boost economic growth in all the locations where we put down our footprint.

”With more centres set to open in South Africa in 2018, this footprint is steadily growing to include centres nationwide, after establishing their current business centres in the main economic hubs such as Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg.

For further information on Regus business centres, to find a global working environment near you:

CONTACT PERSON: Louise Rebstein
Regional Marketing Manager – REGUS
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
+2711 534 8697 / +27 766776397 

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Gidgette Osborne
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
082 574 2308

What’s on BONfire

Braai Masters 2017

Time for the 2nd edition of the ultimate urban braai-off at BON Hotel Bloemfontein Central Twenty corporate teams will compete against one another in the 2nd edition of the BONfire Braai Masters competition on Saturday, 23 September, to be held on the roof-top at BON Hotel Bloemfontein Central in celebration of Heritage Day, on 24 September. 

This event, one of the many taking place around South Africa, will be all about good food, good people, fun for the kids, entertainment, great music and fantastic prizes with all proceeds going towards local charity, Towers of Hope. Each team of two will be have open access to a pantry of delicious ingredients they can use to create the plate of the day.  

Teams will be judged on their stand, team spirit, preparation, technique, coal-fire quality, presentation and taste.  Pieter Van Rooyen, General Manager at BON Hotel Bloemfontein Central, says he is excited to be hosting this event for the second time and is looking forward to the day, to giving back to the community, his guests and staff.  Friends, family and the public are welcome - there is no charge – come and enjoy a day of food and fun as the sun sets over the City of Roses.  

For further information or to enter a team, please contact Charlize Badenhorst at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and keep an eye on Facebook for updates:https://www.facebook.com/BONHotelBloemfonteinCentral/  

When Saturday 23 September 2017 from 10h00 Competition starts at 12h00
Judging starts at 14h00


Where BON Hotel Bloemfontein Central, Bloem Plaza, East Burger Street Find us on the roof-top parking lot


Beneficiary
 Towers of Hope