October 24, 2016

The 64th Insurance Institute of the Border Annual Dinner 2016

snapshotOn the evening of the 14th October 2016, the Insurance Institute of the Border (IIB) hosted 212 members and sponsors at The Venue, Hemingway’s, East London.

Guests were greeted upon arrival by the President of the IIB, Lorraine Lucas and shown to the first order of the Paris themed evening!

The Wheel of Fortune:

Each couple had a chance to spin the lucky Wheel of Fortune and every spin had a prize sponsored by various insurers and industry service providers. Prizes included selfie sticks from Global Choices (which came in handy as the evening progressed) and one of the more popular prizes; R200 EasyEquities Vouchers.

Guests were then shown to the photography area where each couple were given a photograph by Holst Media (click here for more photos) to remember the evening by.

Red Macarons tastefully made by EasyEquities decorated the table with a mystery black box and red ribbon branded by Fulcrum

Red Macarons tastefully made by EasyEquities decorated the table with a mystery black box and red ribbon branded by Fulcrum

After grabbing some drinks and catching up in the foyer, guests were ushered into the main hall where French music and decorated French themed tables awaited.

The always fabulous Debbie Sargent (past IIB President and current Chair & Regional Director of the FIA) addressed guests as the MC for the evening and laid out the process of formalities for the evening before introducing the IIB Committee who entered the hall to a theme song by Black Eyed Pea’s – Tonights Going to Be a Good Night.

Debbie handed the mic over to IIB President Lorraine Lucas who thanked all the sponsors then proceeding in honouring the 2016 award winners:

  • 35 Year Long Service Award – Jenny Saunders, Chris Dallas, Debbie Sargent, Tessa Venter and Hazel Bentley
  • Licentiatship Cup – Eunice Ewers
  • Presidents Award – Merle Thompson
  • Social Award for Companies Perfect Attendance – NFB Insurance Brokers, Stephenson Insurance Broker PG Glass
snapshot-4

The winning table no.4

Once all formalities were dealt with, the Vice President of the IIB Jono Bruton took to the stage to explain the mystery Fulcrum box on each table. Guests were to open the box where they would find Paris Themed props. A competition was laid forth to the guests to take photos at their table, using the props and submitting them for judging to win a prize sponsored by Motorbake Auto Body Repairs – (Ronald Gall of Global Choices, table 6, took this challenge very seriously and gathered his crew, as well as every prop he could find).

The winners of the photo contest finally went to the VIP Presidents table which included IISA’s David Harper and IIG’s Tracey McLaughlin!

The main entertainment for the evening was literally mind blowing and it is a great pitty that SHA’s Liability Guy Simon Colman could not join us to see Larry Soffer bend forks with his mind and predict the future!

When President Lorraine Lucas was asked what her highlights were for the evening, she responded:

“Thanks to our Sponsors, the top 3 being Hollard, SASRIA and Global Choices, the gala dinner was an auspicious event. Upon arrival guest spun a digital wheel and won a sponsored gift.  The main prize was a caricature sketch done by Cape Towns’ Theodore Key. The hall looked stunning with Eifel tower centre pieces and rich gold décor.  We were entertained with intrigue and magic by Larry Soffer, SA’s best Mentalist.  On each table there was black mystery box and inside it there were French props – guests had to use the props to take a photo of their table. These will be uploaded on Facebook and judged during the week.”

Lorraine also passes thanks to her committee who worked very hard in putting the event together with special mention to Head of Social Claudia Smithies and Education Officer Jenny-Ann Maguire.

“It was well organized due to the hard work of 2 ladies, Claudia Smithies and Jenny-ann Maguire. Our Sponsors are key the success of this event each year.  There was so much attention to detail from the French poodles to the red EasyEquities macarons on the tables.  The support from our members is appreciated and 2016 saw a record number of guests.”

snapshot-5

The Insurance Institute of the Border Committee 2016

The Insurance Institute of the Border has been hosting their Annual Dinner for 64 years. While this is one of the smaller institutes, the Border Region is vast and has many opportunities in the insurance space. The IIB’s core focus is to educate our members and provide networking opportunities to grow business in the Border Region.

Tweet the IIB well done: @iib_border