Page 7 - Cape-Camera-Sept-Oct-2021

Cape Camera September/October 2021

New CTPS Council makes history

When, at the recent AGM, Jacoba van Zyl was elected President and Lesley Pa-

rolis as Vice-President, it was the first time in our society’s 131-year history that
both presidential positions were filled by women and only the second time that a
woman was elected as President!*

Jacoba van Zyl - President phers and to receive constructive critique at competition eve-
nings and other related events. From the beginning, she has at-
Jacoba joined CTPS in May 2012 tended countless master classes, both locally and overseas, but
and was elected secretary the considers Freeman Patterson her most influential mentor.
same year, a position she held
until 2017, when she retired and
decided to travel and devote Lesley Parolis – Vice-President
more time to her own photog-
raphy. Lesley joined CTPS in 2011 af-
She was in the employment of ter completing two courses at
Metropolitan for 35 years, first in the Cape Town School of Pho-
the Life Division and later in the tography that led her to being
Health Division in a senior management position, concentrat- involved in the formation of the
ing on medical scheme administration and being responsible Full Spectrum Photographic
for the interaction with the different boards of the schemes un- Club. She was appointed to the
der her control. Council in 2012 as Competition
Secretary/Convener
She joined CTPS mainly to meet other people interested in the
same hobby, to learn from them and keep on taking images on She studied for a Bachelor of
a more more regular basis. Pharmacy degree at Rhodes
University, completed her train-
Nicol du Toit - Treasurer eeship at Settler's Hospital in
Grahamstown and then returned to Rhodes for a PhD in Car-
Nicol joined CTPS in 2011 after his bohydrate Chemistry. She worked as a research scientist in this
daughter persuaded him to come field until 1998. After that she moved to Cape Town where she
along to a CTPS meeting. He was was employed at UCT in the Department of Chemical Engineer-
soon co-opted as treasurer but ing as a research scientist in the Minerals Processing Research
only accepted reluctantly because Centre until her retirement in 2008.
of his previous experience when
he had served as treasurer on the Anna Engelhardt - Communications
SA Chess Federation, which soon
made him lose interest in play- Anna joined CTPS in 2011, after
ing. However, he noticed that being persuaded to do so by her
CTPS had problems with account- fellow members of the Full Spec-
ing and tax issues and offered his services. Since then, he has trum club, and received a warm
served as CTPS treasurer, except when he was elected President welcome (in her mother tongue)
in 2015 for a two year term. from then President Detlef Basel.
He studied and did his articles to become a chartered account- She took over the editorship of
Cape Camera from Trudi du Toit in
ant, but did not really enjoy the work. Soon after qualifying he May 2016 and became a Council
did an MBA and changed direction into general management. member later that year.
He was in several senior management positions, including CEO
in shipping and container logistics companies until he and his She holds a BSc in Food Science
wife Trudi bought a small publishing company. & Technology and became a jour-
nalist and editor after she moved to Cape Town in 1977. Pho-
Kim Stevens – Education & Development Convener tography has been part of her professional and private life for
many years but she felt that there was room for improvement,
Kim joined CTPS in 2010 along with particularly on the creative side. Being a member of CTPS and
some friends from the small photo- Full Spectrum has been an endless inspiration and challenge for
graphic club Full Spectrum, and was her.
appointed to the Council in 2015 as
the Education and Development
Convener. Mike de Villiers – Public Relations
She had studied medicine and then
became a professional mother and Mike became a member in 2015 and joined the Council in 2018,
home maker. taking on Public Relations to help new members familiarise
themselves with the working of the society and to get to know
Her motivation to join CTPS was to other members. He initially joined the club to get to grips with
learn more from fellow photogra- the more technical aspects of modern camera technology and

Cape Town Photographic Society 6