NEVER TOO LATE FOR A NEW VENTURE
Category News
Dormehl Phalane Property Group agent Maryna Procter (pictured, third left, with fellow DPPG staff), is a former tennis ace and the wife of legendary South African cricketer Mike Procter. who proves that it is never too late to start a new venture.
Maryna, who celebrated her 74th birthday on September 9, sat exactly two months after that date for her Professional Designation Examination (PDE). This is an integrated test of knowledge for estate agents, which she is proud to announce that she passed, allowing her to be registered with the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) as a full-status agent.
The exam followed three years of being an intern at the DPPG Durban North branch, which Maryna joined in 2015 after hearing good things about the property company headed by Owen Dormehl and Tau "Daniel" Phalane - a company that impressed her when it helped sell her house.
She says she has always loved the property business, personally sold her own home and her mother's home, and thought that a new adventure as an agent would be right up her street.
Maryna's experience with DPPG marks her first work experience following years of raising a son (still living in Durban) and two daughters (one in Boise, America; the other in Amsterdam), being a wife to cricketer Mike Procter, and, in her youth, being a top-rated tennis player who reached the quarterfinals of the 1968 US Open.
In 1968 and 1969, Maryna played in four ties for the South African Fed Cup team. The year 1969 was also when she met her husband-to-be, a noted fast-bowler and hard-hitting batsman.
When we chatted on the phone, Maryna announced that she was greatly relieved that the PDE exam was behind her.
"Sitting and writing for four hours is no joke. I thought my hand was going to fall off," she says with a chuckle.
She is looking forward to the new year in the property realm, being highly optimistic that business will see an upward turn, and is grateful to DPPG and its helpful training leader, John Wilkie, for what she labels as a "fantastic" intern programme.
Away from the world of property, Maryna enjoys visiting her children - and three grandchildren in America - and admits to a penchant for travelling that began years ago when her cricketer husband would often see them country hopping.
In April this year, she was delighted to accompany her husband to Christchurch in New Zealand for a Golden Oldies Cricket tournament, she says, adding that Mike keeps his cricketing interests up by coaching schoolchildren in Ottawa, near Verulam, in his spare time.
Author: Billy Suter
