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Emmie Boshoff - A Lifetime of ServiceElmarie (Emmie) Boshoff was born in Bethlehem in the Free State and matriculated in 1966 at the Bethlehem Voorttrekker High School with a distinction in Business Economics. In 1967, Emmie moved to Pretoria and studied for a secretarial diploma at the Pretoria Technical College. She took a job with the Department of Forestry but while pursuing her hobby of Ballroom and Latin dancing she landed a job at the dance studio - taking on the role of company secretary as well as teaching dancing and attaining the "Emerald Star" in her own dancing exams.
Emmie started work as a bookkeeper at Itireleng (an organisation for the Blind outside Pretoria) on the 2nd of August 1972. Her dedication and expertise soon saw her progressing to accounting for 3 organisations - Itireleng, Self Help Industries and the Pretoria workshop. She was responsible for computerizing all three workshops and in 1989 she was offered the position of Managing Director at the Pretoria workshop for the Blind. "The rest ", as Emmie herself puts it "is history."
Under Emmie's leadership the Pretoria Workshop has become a
leading light in blind welfare .Its key mission is to provide training and employment to blind and disadvantaged people in the local community and to this end the traditional "handcrafts for the blind" have been replaced by a fully operational factory comprising a fertilizer stick extrusion plant, a vacuum forming and assembly factory, a basket and cane furniture workshop and a window-blind assembly project. Over 100 people are employed on a permanent basis, with a casual workforce of an additional 150 people who is called in during peak assembly periods.
In 2002 The Pretoria Workshop received the "Organisation of the Year' award from the Pretoria Chamber of Commerce and a certificate of "Service Excellence" from the Department of Health and Welfare.
Emmie herself has been the recipient of some prestigious awards - most notably
Emmie still has time and energy for a full personal life . she has been happily married to Willie for more than 33 years and they have two daughters aged 28 and 26. She is a mad rugby fan, loves sewing, flower arranging and organizing events as well as water sports which include sailing, skiing and swimming.
Emmie is a committed Christian, is actively involved in the Anglican Church and serves as Treasurer and Churchwarden in her local parish. "I see my work as a calling" states Emmie "and although I am proud of my achievements, I am always aware of the fact that I do my work for the Lord and do nothing without seeking direction from above"
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