"We were delighted to discover we were nominated by one of our clients," said Monique van Heerden, owner and manager of the winning West Rand franchise. "We were then required to put together a comprehensive information pack, as well as do an in-depth presentation to a panel of judges."
The panel consisted of representatives from SAIPA (South African Institute of Professional Accountants), FNB Commercial Banking and SAICA (South African Institute for Charted Accountants), as well as from the Roodepoort Chamber of Commerce and Industry. After adjudicating the presentations and information packs, the judges selected the winners in each category, and these were announced at a gala event held at Silverstar Casino recently.
The categories were: Emerging Business, Micro Business, Medium Business, and Large/Corporate, with Edublox West Rand receiving the Gold Award in the Micro Business category.
Van Heerden said that the Gold was a very pleasant surprise. "We were hoping for a merit award for service excellence, so it was wonderful to be recognised like this and be awarded the top prize in our category."
Van Heerden attributes the success of their presentation to the impressive reading and learning results demonstrated, as well as the Edublox approach to service.
"The Edublox Programme shows results," said Van Heerden. "Parents are able to talk to people who understand their situation and speak the same language as them. This, coupled with passionate, highly trained teachers and all the right quality control measures in place, is what I believe to be behind our success."
Edublox founder, Henk du Plessis, agreed: "Edublox West Rand thoroughly deserves to win the Gold Award. Monique van Heerden personifies the Edublox values, as she is exceptionally proud of the wonderful achievements of her learners, but remains humble and sees the opportunity to develop learners as an honour.
"Furthermore, her relentless effort to deliver quality teaching ensure that the academic results learners achieve at school are nothing short of remarkable," explained Du Plessis. "She is often complimented on her excellent and compassionate service and is a true role model for other franchisees."
Speaking of the future, Van Heerden is excited about new programmes about to be launched, including an English language course and Edubrain home-reading programme and tool kit. She has also recently opened a Randburg branch, which she plans to grow as strong and successful as the West Rand branch.
"I really love my job," said Van Heerden, "I feel incredibly privileged to be working in this environment with great teachers, appreciative parents, and children who are improving not only their learning skills, but so many other aspects of their lives too."
For more, go to www.edublox.co.za.
