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In
1967, the idea of an annual Nomads
Tournament in aid of national charity
was first conceived. A prominent
international publishing house agreed to
sponsor the first year to the tune of R
1500, but unfortunately had a change of
heart at the eleventh hour and withdrew
the sponsorship. This was very
disappointing as the plans were by then
well advanced for the tournament, but a
local businessman, a founder Member of
Nomads, Andrew Mentis, stepped into the
breech and filled the void by
underwriting the basic cost of
organizing and running the proposed
tournament to the tune of R 2 000 per
year, guaranteed for a period of four
year.
The first tournament was held in 1968 at
the Huddle Park Golf Course using two of
the three courses. It was an enormous
success, even though many teething
problems were encountered, it was a
financial success with R 12 000 being
handed over to the SA Nursing
Association Bursary Fund. Although this
initial venture did not correspond to
the now established norms of
tangibility, the money was used to send
selected nurses overseas for advanced
training.
Andrew then became the chairman of the
NNAMEF since its inception until his
retirement from the position in 1995.
Andrew is also the donor in every Nomads
club of the Trophy for one of each clubs
major annual competitions, the Andrew
Mentis competition.
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