The GSSA Annual General Meeting was held on Fri & Sat (13th & 14th) March 2020 at Clivia Lodge & Conference in Vanderbijlpark on the banks of the Vaal river at Loch Vaal. The hosts for the 2-day event were the Vaal Triangle Branch of the GSSA.
On Fri the guests were greeted and registered by the friendly members of the Vaal Triangle branch who among others were manning a table with memorabilia that the branch had for sale. Among these items were beautifully printed mugs specific to the topic of genealogy, the branch Storiewa publication in hardcopy and CD format and much more. There was also a bookstall from the local branch of Protea Books promoting books relevant to the theme of the event.
Nine of the 12 branches were present at this year’s AGM and the interaction of branch representatives made it possible to share views and opinions regarding motions and proposals to make an informed decision to resolve problems and issues facing the GSSA’s existence going forward.
The AGM started promptly at 14h00 on Fri and after the welcome address by the President, Simon du Plooy, the work started in all earnest. The National Executive Council had a long list of points on the Agenda this year, but the following main focus areas was:
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Marketing
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Communication
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Branch assistance
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Management manual (Bestuurshandleiding)
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NEC Branch visits
Current main projects being undertaken by the GSSA is as follows:
1972 Voters Project “Rhino” - Books were scanned and compiled in a searchable spreadsheets and were compiled into a product that can be sold. Individuals have already started to buy individual surnames. Currently, the GSSA is endevouring to have them professionaly OCR’d, the results of which has still to be determinded. Click here for more
GSSA Webshop – This currently includes the following 3 components, i.e.
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1984 Voters List,
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Cemetry Project and
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eSAGI (Wes Gauteng info)
The project went live at the end of May 2020 where one is now able to buy and use tokens to download data using the PayFast payment method. Click here for more
Project Vaal Dam - In progress, currently still busy preparing a list of names regarding the underwater graves.
Electronic products - Are an ongoing project of the GSSA and special offers which are being compiled from time to time are well supported. Offers for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Christmas will be ongoing. Click here for moreNew Products being developed. Click here for more
New Products being developed:
Gen2SA - is a Genealogy utility program that converts standard GedCom files, from Genealogy Programs, into several documents. One of which is a main Genealogy list in the same De Villiers & Pama format as the SAG & SAF registers. It additionaly has an unique reference number system which makes the register much more readable. These files can be opened in MS Word. This was on a 32bit platform (DOS) and has now been converted into a 64bit platform, Gen2Word, suitable to run on Windows click here for more
The Fri night braai have become a traditional social event at the GSSA AGM’s during the last few years. It is an opportunity for branch members from across the country to interact socially, exchange ideas and to catch up on all the news for the year.
The Vaal Triangle Branch coincidently, also turned 21 this year and this was a perfect opportunity for a birthday party and cakes. Delegates participated in a group “Flinkdink” where they had to answer questions all related to the Vaal Triangle area.
On Sat morning the NEC continued with their workings and later on the AGM concluded with the Gala evening that took place at Clivia lodge. The theme for the gala event was “Boer & Brit” and it was decided to focus on the Anglo Boer War and its 120-year commemoration. This was done due to the fact that the Peace Treaty was signed in Vereeniging after the ABO in 1902, thus bringing the theme a bit closer to home for many of the Vaal Triangle residents.
Our guest speaker, Johan Wolfaardt from the President Pretorius Museum in Potchefstroom gave an outstanding presentation on The State Artillery Structure and Organizations between the years 1874 & 1902.
The evening turned out to be a very joyful event with the photo booth and theme clothing bringing many laughs and comments. At the end of the evening the official business of the AGM was concluded with a feeling of huge success regarding participation of all the Branches, making it possible that views and opinions can be shared and problems resolved.
On Sunday morning delegates from the various Branches departed with a feeling of achievement and accomplishment.
What made the 2-day event more unique was the big turnout in attendance of local Vaal Triangle Branch members having the opportunity to experience firsthand the finer workings of the NEC and the interaction with the other national GSSA Branches.
