ACCOLADE FOR VALERIE AND DPPG
Category News
THERE were smiles, hugs and back-slaps all round last night (September 13) when a franchise principal of the Dormehl Phalane Property Group (DPPG) received high recognition at the sixth annual Gender Mainstreaming Awards held at the TicketPro Dome in Johannesburg.
A radiant Valerie Munro, the principal of Business Unlimited Consultants, trading as DPPG for Northern Suburbs, Cape Town, was accompanied on stage at the glitzy function by a tuxedoed Owen Dormehl, one of the heads of DPPG.
They were called on stage, as spotlights swirled, to accept a framed certificate for third joint place in the private sector section of the Diversity and Transformation prize category, an award DPPG shares with Human Capital.
The first place, which went to Ernst & Young last year, went to Vodacom this year, with Ernst & Young in second place.
The Gender Mainstreaming Awards is an initiative of Business Engage Association NPC, of which The Sunday Times is a sponsor. Participation is open to companies that have started putting in place strategies for gender mainstreaming, or which have achieved success in gender mainstreaming in South Africa and/or internationally.
An excited and grateful Valerie, speaking from the TicketPro Dome soon after accepting her framed certificate, said she was “blessed, delighted and overwhelmed” by the accolade, as it represented strong public recognition for good practise and excellence in tackling gender mainstreaming.
She had stated earlier, when she was announced as a nominee for the award, that this high recognition would enable her business to maximise its growth and profits through diverse offerings that include networking, mentorship, training, collaboration, entrepreneurship development and support.
A member of the Dormehl Phalane Property Group since 2014, Valerie was born and raised in Melville, Johannesburg, and has been living in the Cape since 2005. She has been in real estate since April 2007, when she was part of the Acutts estate agency in the Bothasig/Plattekloof areas.
After Acutts split in May 2008, she established the first Harcourts real estate franchises in Cape Town, in the Milnerton and Blauuwberg areas, then in 2014 joined Owen Dormehl, working the Parklands area, when he set up his real estate company under his own moniker.
Valerie is not new to being praised – she was highly commended last year as one of the Dormehl Phalane Property Group’s four ambassadors for the South African Ladies’ Team at the World Indoor Cricket Federation World Cup in Dubai. That team, proudly sponsored by DPPG, took a silver award.
Author: Billy Suter
