At the Coschem AGM on 7 February, members and attendees witnessed the end of an era and the start of something new and exciting for the society. Roy Gardiner has stepped down in his capacity as treasurer and Jill Gardiner stepped down as education officer; both Roy and Jill will also no longer be on the council. With a new executive committee in place and new council members announced for 2019, Coschem has a great outlook for the year ahead.

The society turned 42 this year, and while it is steeped in knowledge and industry expertise, it needs to be young at heart and agile to keep up with the times and be on par with change. As a result, there are some fresh faces on the 2019 council, who have great plans to make this a successful year for the society, particularly with the HPCI Expo and Coschem Scientific Conference taking place in conjunction at Gallagher Convention Centre, in Midrand, South Africa, on 4 and 5 September.

The Coschem council for 2019 includes: president, Rene Spada; vice president, Kim MacCallum; honorary secretary, Patricia Kruger; immediate past president, Ivor Zwane; honorary treasurer, Michael Butt; and council members Jacques Strydom; Lumbi Moyol; Amanda Dahl; Charmaine du Preez; Erica de Kock; Kudzai Gwazira; Samantha Pols; Percy Sibanda and Wayne van Wyk.