It is with great sadness and regret that I have to inform you of the sudden and unexpected passing of our President, Prof Amanda Minnaar.

SAAFoST Congress delegates in Durban a few weeks ago would have noticed Amanda participating enthusiastically in the scientific programme and other events, banquet guests would have been witness to her proudly and excitedly assuming the office of SAAFoST President for the period 2015 – 2017 on the evening of 8 September.

Amanda has been a SAAFoST Member since graduating with a BSc from the University of Pretoria in the mid-eighties and in 1987, was awarded the Association’s most prestigious education award, the Koeppen Memorial Scholarship for academic excellence.

As a regular participant in SAAFoST events and congresses, as past chair of the Northern Branch, Chair of a Congress organising committee, Council member and most recently as President Elect and subsequently President of the Association, Amanda will be sorely and sincerely missed by fellow members and colleagues and we extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends and husband of thirty five years, Francois.

One of my best memories of getting to know and work with Amanda was linked to chocolate. :-))
In my final year as a student, Amanda asked a bunch of us to come along on a trip to help out with a research project on avocado pears. I don't like avocado pears at all, but she made the trip sound so fun that I simply HAD to go. It was in Tzaneen and we were just a bunch or ladies. We had to "braai" our own meat etc. Such fun! And yes I worked with the avocado pears (and only years later told her how much I actualy dislike avocado pears).  The morning we had to leave Tzaneen there was quite a bit of food left in the fridge and things we couldn't take back. everybody helped eat something out of the fridge. I volunteered to finish off the chocolate mouse and did so in record time!. She said she would always remeber me as the only person she knew who had chocolate mouse for breakfast. It was one of the stories she loved to share on our EU project trips when she introduced me to new people (to put me at ease as new people scare me bit). I always made sure on every trip we took together, that I maintained my chocolate-crazy reputation, just to amuze her :-)