WHAT do the lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and buffalo have in common with Brendon Bosch, Ruth Goodman, Maryke de Beer, Yolanda Honiball and Gerrie Coetzee of the Dormehl Phalane Property Group (DPG)?
The animals represent Africa’s Big Five; the people named represent the current Big Five of DPG’s property practitioners … and both the magnificent beasts and the real estate champs were the centre of attention this week at a four-star lodge in Gauteng’s only Big Five game reserve.
DPG, headed by Owen and Amanda Dormehl, Kevin Delport and Tau Phalane, decided to go wild for the company’s 17th annual awards ceremony after the last two awards events were held at the laidback Happy Wanderers beach resort in Kelso on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.
So it was off to the Tshikwalo Game Lodge, in Dinokeng Game Reserve, from Tuesday to Friday, March 10 to 13. About an hour’s drive from Johannesburg, the reserve sprawls across 19 000ha and, besides the Big Five, offers giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and more than 300 bird species.
The Tshikwalo Game Lodge’s name originates from the Monkey thorn (Acacia galpinii) tree, or Tshikwalo, as it is known in Venda – and it was there that Dormehl Phalane’s top agents, principals, invited attorneys and other guests started arriving on the Tuesday afternoon.
On a beautifully sunny day under acacia trees, with guests seated at tables decorated with tiny plastic animals and local flora, the first half of the awards were presented at an informal breakfast event on Wednesday.
The breakfast’s ‘Safari’ dress code attracted some fun and interesting interpretations, ranging from animal prints to many khaki outfits teamed with white shirts. Accessories included binoculars, sunhats and pith helmets.
Before the awards got underway, with an interval for a sumptuous buffet breakfast served in the shade of the trees, DPG’s Upper Highway manager, Jean Liversage, and Ralph Aadnesgaard – husband of Howick agent and principal Liane Aadnesgaard – collected prizes for the best-dressed.
The big award of the morning – Agent of the Year 2025 – went, once again, to the Pinetown franchise’s golden boy, Brendon Bosch. Barrydale’s Ruth Goodman was in second place, followed by Maryke de Beer of Moot, Yolanda Honiball of Dormehl Gary Mann Vaal, and Moot’s Gerrie Coetzee.
Bosch collected a pile of other awards, among them Residential Agent of the Year (Urban), Regional Agent of the Year (KZN), Achiever of the Year (Urban), Sole Mandates Sold Agents of the Year, Referrals Sent (and Sold) Agent of the Year, and an Ooba award for top coastal supporter.
Along with 24 other named agents, Bosch received an additional treat – R25 000 worth of services from The Virtual Agent, the prominent property technology platform that aims to simplify work flow for higher efficiency and results.
Other notable awards from the morning session included special ‘millionaire certificates’ for top agents with impressive total sales milestones since inception. At the top of this heap was Liane Aadnesgaard of Howick, with a total of R375million in sales.
The Oscar Award, this year awarded to the person most excelling in social media, went to Dormehl Gary Mann Vaal’s Yolanda Honiball, while the Rookie Agent of the Year Award went to Jan Eaglestone of Upper Highway.
Letting Agent of the Year was Anita Ackerman of Pretoria’s Student Accommodation; Commercial and Industrial Broker of the Year was Moot’s Maryke de Beer; and Dormehl Lite’s Stacy Fernandez, of Durban, took the prize for Rental Procurement Agent of the Year.
After the breakfast awards, everyone was free to chill as they liked, while sponsored, three-hour, game drives were undertaken in the late afternoon of Wednesday and also at dawn on Thursday.
Things got formal for the second half of the awards, held on Thursday evening in a fairylight-festooned functions hall at the lodge, where elegant gowns, tuxedos and smart suits were everywhere.
Guests found blue-and-white-beaded keyrings, and wired hand fans, as table gifts. Attendees later tucked into a plated potato leek soup, before enjoying a buffet meal of salad, rosemary-flecked baby potatoes, broccoli bake, stuffed chicken breasts and sirloin steaks with pepper sauce, followed by baked Malva Pudding with custard.
Owen Dormehl’s Moot branch in Pretoria was named National Franchise of the Year, followed by last year’s winner of this title, Dormehl Gary Mann Vaal. Pinetown placed third and the rest of the Top 10 comprised Howick, Upper Highway, A Team, Student Accommodation, Barrydale, Upper Highway Letting and Queensburgh.
The evening event saw the prize for Training Principal of the Year awarded to Dormehl Gary Mann Vaal’s Benita Stander, while the same franchise took the award for Residential Franchise of the Year.
Student Accommodation took the award for Rental Management Franchise of the Year; Moot was named Commercial and Industrial Franchise of the Year; and Owen Dormehl’s Special Recognition Award, for public testimonials, went to A-Team’s Christy du Preez.
Sisters Pippa Griffin and Liane Aadnesgaard, principals of the Howick franchise, were named as Franchisee of the Year. This award was selected by DPG directors to highlight outstanding levels of professionalism in the conduct of business.
Among many other highlights of the evening were Jim Ormshaw’s Montclair, Durban, being named as Most Improved Franchise; Adrian Baker of Upper Highway and Leon Loggenberg of Pinetown sharing The Wooden Spoon (for ‘stirrer of the year’); and Jean Liversage of Upper Highway receiving the award for franchisee marketing initiative.
After the evening award presentations, there was customary wild abandon on the dancefloor, folks first showing fancy footwork with Tina Turner’s "Simply the Best", immediately after which a medley of great ’80s chart-toppers saw the dancefloor fill for loads of fun. It capped another memorable awards event.
Master of ceremonies for the morning and evening awards was Ooba’s Gauteng sales manager, Etrecia van Dyk. Guest speakers included Freda Kooij of FK Consulting, Absa’s Thando Majola, Ooba’s Careen McKinon, and Marize Dippenaar, national sales manager of The Virtual Agent.
The morning awards were presented by Amanda Dormehl, Freda Kooij and Kevin Delport, while the evening awards were presented by Ooba's Linda Rall, Amanda Dormehl and Absa's Thando Majola.
