A Good Hope College Alumni Initiative
By Romeo De Buys
What a joy it was to be a part of an event which was anticipated with great interest as a first of its kind for our Alumni Association. Those who took time out of their busy schedules to attend certainly added much value to the occasion. Guests included former teachers, students, current and former parents, spouses and scores of interested parties. Riverside church members particularly impressed by showing up as the highest number of attendees from one church…we salute you (Riverside SDA Church).
The Master and Mistress of Ceremony for the evening were Ms Denise Du Plessis, a former teacher, and Mr. Dwight Luntz, a former learner. They eloquently guided the attendees through the proceedings of the day.
The Alumni President, Sylvester Vogel, welcomed the guests with zest and in a true Christmas Spirit. When thanked by the Mistress of Ceremony, he was referred to as our ‘fearless Leader’, a title he certainly earned during the latter part of the evening when he steered the attendees into donating the handsome sum of around R40 000 for school bursaries for deserving learners of Good Hope Adventist High School in 2020. The event-date coincided with the funeral service of Sylvester’s wife Angeline who sadly passed away just more than a week earlier. We share our sincerest condolences with Sylvester and the Vogel family. These sentiments were expressed by the MC’s on the day.
The current school principal, Mrs Sophia Reuban, shared some news about the school as well as ongoing projects. She encouraged the guests to support the 90th Celebration upcoming events which includes the following; the school Alumni Celebration Tour (19 September – 1 October), the preceding Farewell Concert on the night of departure (19 September), a Teachers Appreciation Ball (6 October), a Tribute Musical Program (26 October) at the Bellville SDA Church and of course the Homecoming Weekend itself scheduled for 1-3 November on the Good Hope Campus.
The event was beautifully capped by the presence of the SDA Wind Band - Cape Town joined by few friends on string instruments, spirited musicians that included Adelle Kok, Heidi De Buys, Leon Cranfield, Roscoe Booysen and Craig Felaar. They wowed the guests with memorable Christmas specials. Intermittently, the audience was lead in carol singing.
During the course of the evening, the MC’s randomly posed questions and upon positive responses, guests were offered gifts which were neatly wrapped in ribbons and bows. The ultimate gift of the night was of course the pledges from the audience in support of Good Hope Adventist High School deserving learners as previously mentioned. This was a beautiful cherry to top the evening’s proceedings. The promised three-course meal did not disappoint. Guests dined in a relaxed environment and were served by Good Hope Adventist High School Grade 11 learners under the supervision of Heidi De Buys and Omelia (du Plessis). Drinks (Cold drinks, coffee and tea) were readily available and served at the tables upon request, by the capable waiters and waitresses on duty.
