by SFT | May 3, 2026 | St Francis
(photo by Barry Culligan)
Lois Fox has retired after 20 wonderful years with Pam Golding Properties St Francis Bay.
She is still a part-time member of our team, but her delightful calm persona is seen more on the bowling greens than in our office these days.
She enjoyed a glittering career, earning Pam Golding Gold Club status every single year, and attending all-expenses-paid trips to our annual conferences around the world.
But she is mostly remembered for her smiling, positive presence, always ready for a chat, and able to work with chaos around her!
Lois was hardworking, often first and last at the office, giving freely of her time to buyers, sellers, and anyone who needed her help.
Lois had the gift of phoning anyone and somehow lifting their day with her light and laughter! And with many of our clients out of town, she spent many hours on the phone!
Personally, I never had a harsh word with Lois in all those twenty years. And she must take most of the credit for that. Maybe because we were born on the same day, and the same year!
I remember clearly when we first opened our office in 2005 at 56 Lyme Road, where we still are today. Our sons were in class together, and she would often pop in at our office, and I would say, half joking, “When are you going to join us?”
And one day she replied, “Are you joking?” And I said, “No!”
And that’s how it started!
But luckily, we now have charming Krystal Scott as our new canals specialist.
Krystal first visited St Francis Bay on holiday 22 years ago, and it quickly became a place close to her heart.
Fourteen years ago, she met her now-husband, Jal Rigaard, which led to her relocating and putting down roots in the area.
She has known Lois and her family for over two decades, and in 2013 she walked into the Pam Golding office, where she was soon offered an opportunity within the holiday rentals division.
Over the next ten years, Krystal played a key role in growing and refining the rentals portfolio, delivering exceptional service to both owners and tenants.
Having worked closely alongside Lois for many years, her transition into sales was a natural progression.
As Lois began to step back, Krystal embraced the opportunity to partner with her, gaining invaluable mentorship while establishing herself in the sales space.
Krystal has quickly shown that her selling skills rival and even exceed her rental skills, easily earning herself all-expenses-paid trips to the annual Pam Golding conferences, this year in Barcelona.
She has, like Lois, partnered with Dot Suart-White, our exceptional Village specialist. Dot has performed amazingly since joining us in 2020. Together they are arguably the top partnership in St Francis, both in terms of their sales success and their hard work for their clients.
by SFT | May 3, 2026 | Financial Planning, St Francis
I recently attended a financial planning conference where a fascinating conversation unfolded, one that I suspect will resonate with many of you reading this.
The topic was young adults (our children) entering the workforce and the challenge as a financial planner, of getting them engaged with retirement planning early. The younger voices in the room were honest and articulate about their challenges, starting salaries simply don’t stretch far enough. Rent, medical aid, groceries, transport, the basics alone can feel overwhelming in today’s especially in metropolitan areas. Retirement, they said, feels like a distant abstraction when survival feels like the immediate reality. It’s hard to argue with that.
But then the older planners in the room said something that gave everyone pause. Many admitted they were still paying their adult children’s medical aids, subsidising rent, and covering expenses for children who had long since married, started families, and were driving cars they couldn’t afford themselves. And then came the quiet admission that perhaps we made it too easy.
When the older generation started out, there were no smartphones, no gym memberships, no expectation of immediate comfort. They went without and figured things out as they went along. Student loans had to be repaid, and internship salaries had to suffice. In doing so, they built certain skills or attributes, resourcefulness, resilience, and a genuine appreciation for what they eventually earned.
I see this dynamic constantly in my own business. And I’ll be honest, I’m not immune to it myself. We love our children and we hate seeing them struggle. When we have the means to help, it feels almost unnatural not to, but what looks like generosity on the surface can quietly become something more complicated underneath.
I’ve watched clients trim their own lifestyles, downscale their homes, and quietly shelve dreams in what should be their glory years because financial support of their children never had a proper end date. Even among wealthier clients, the consequences often surprise people. Children who haven’t had to earn money frequently don’t value it the same way. A quiet sense of entitlement can develop. Partners can feel diminished because they’re unable to provide what the family has come to expect. These are real, human costs that no balance sheet captures.
Finding the balance isn’t about being hard-hearted, it’s about being thoughtful. Before you extend financial support, talk it through with your spouse. Consider all the consequences, both for your children, for their relationships, and for yourselves. Never assist to your own detriment.
Retirement isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of a whole new chapter. Make sure you arrive there with enough and if you help, do so responsibly.
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Dirk Groeneveld, Certified Financial Planner
t. 083 261 9287
e. dirk@clientcare.co.za
Recent columns:
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Disclaimer:
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice in any way or form. It is important to consult a financial planner to receive financial advice before acting on any information contained herein. Client Care and PWM and its directors, officers, and employees shall not be responsible and disclaim all liability for any loss, damage (whether direct, indirect, special or consequential) and/or expense of any nature whatsoever, which may be suffered as a result of, or which may be attributable, directly or indirectly, to the use of, or reliance upon any information contained in this article.
by SFT | May 3, 2026 | Notes From The Editor, St Francis
Departure Line
We left St Francis Bay with boards, bags, and a loose plan. My son and I aimed for Lakey Peak, which sounds simple until you plot the route. First stop: Gqeberha. From there, we jumped to Johannesburg, then on to Dubai, followed by Bali, then Bima, and finally a two-hour taxi ride to Lakey Peak.
It reads like a riddle. It felt like a mission.
Distance Covered
We travelled roughly 13,500 kilometres by air and another 350 kilometres by road. In simple terms, that is a third of the way around the planet. We crossed time zones, climates, and food groups.
First, a coastal drive. Then a domestic hop. After that, a long-haul stretch. Then an island shuffle. Finally, the classic Indonesian taxi leg where the road bends just enough to keep you awake.
Long Haul
Airports were busy. Planes were fairly full. Every leg carried a steady flow of people moving with purpose.
At Dubai International Airport, the world passed through in every direction. Families, workers, surfers, business travellers. Everyone carried a version of somewhere else.
Through it all, travel held its rhythm. Indonesia, on arrival, felt exactly right. Warm air. Quick smiles. A smooth return to familiar ground.
War in the Background
There was a quiet undertone to it all. News cycles carried phrases like “ceasefire” and “uncertainty.”
At the same time, back home in South Africa, things seemed to gather pace. Fresh talk around Thyspunt, a noticeable drop in temperature as winter started to settle in, and the usual flow of daily life all stacked into a few short days.
From a distance, it feels fast, angsty. Compressed. Like a highlight reel running a touch quicker than normal.
Step away and look back, and everything seems to accelerate. Live inside it, and the same days feel measured and steady. It might be timing. It might be perspective. It might just be distance doing its thing.
Somewhere in that mix, my wife and daughter carry on back home, school runs, cooler mornings, and the steady rhythm of daily life, all ticking along, with my wife quietly underwriting the entire mission, which is how two surfers end up across the planet without too many questions asked.
Flying during a time like this sharpens perspective. You see how many people rely on things continuing to work. Airports become proof of continuity.
Bima Arrival
Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport has a reputation. Tight, busy, energetic. It delivers. The system runs on local rhythm, and it holds together.
Step outside and Indonesia lands properly. The smell of clove cigarettes drifts through the air. Heat settles onto your shoulders. Thirty-four degrees is the standard in Sumbawa.
Final Stretch
The last leg stretches just enough to build anticipation. Then it opens up. The off grid drive rolls through villages and roadside warungs.
Lakey Peak sits there, doing its thing. Lines wrap down the reef. Warm water holds you in place. Time finds a slower pace.
After all that movement, the stillness is so good.
What It Means
Travel like this strips things down. You leave one small coastal town and arrive at another, on the far side of the world. Same ocean. Different mood.
Distance adds perspective.
It reminds you that movement continues, even when headlines feel heavy. People go. Planes fly. Waves break.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, a father and son cover 14,000 kilometres to go for the surf trip of a lifetime.
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