Text: Mariëtte van Niekerk / Cover and profile photographer: Albert Bredenhann | Pixel Pro Photography
Her smile can light up any room, and don’t even get us started gushing about her beautiful eyes. But don’t for one second think the Moreletapark resident, who has called the capital home for the past 17 years, is just your average beauty queen. Oh no. Megan completed her higher diploma in Entrepreneurship from the North-West university while still in high school and then after Matric her B-Tech (IT Network Programming) in Pretoria before moving to the UK in 2003 where she worked as a Java Programmer and freelance model.
These days she is the CEO, founder and owner of Play it 4WARD, a company specialising in hosting high profile corporate golf days, charity golf days and VIP golf experiences; CEO of Golfing for Teddy, an NPO that collects and donates teddy bears to kids who have to spend Christmas in hospital; marketing director of EV Global, the biggest independent electrical vehicle company in South Africa. Added to that, Megan is also the ambassador for Serengeti Estates golf course, LCN Aesthetic and Slimming Clinic and Swagg Golf Apparel. Quite a mouthful, we know.
Play it 4WARD celebrated their ten year anniversary and according to Megan, the best is yet to come. Oh, and then there’s the agency for celebrity golfers, Master of Ceremonies, speakers and auctioneers. “When I started organising golf days I saw a gap in the industry for golf celebrity MCs and auctioneers. So I scouted for the best in the industry that knows the sport and can connect to any audience from any background. My celebrity golf auctioneers raise in excess of R1.5 million per annum for charities,” Megan says.
She is also the newly crowned Mrs. Pretoria-Tshwane 2020 and of course we had to know why she entered. “The fact that this pageant is not based on looks. It’s about your core belief and your involvement with your community. You have to show your worth and earn this title,” Megan says.
Her role and responsibilities will be to help raise much needed funds for the Rolemodels Foundation which will enable them to buy non-perishable foods for the orphanage they support in Pretoria and also help raise funds for a piece of land they want to develop and turn into a holiday and leadership camp for orphans in school holidays.
So how does she do it all?
“A company is just as good as its people. So I make sure I employ the right people for the right positions. I also make sure they get the right training and personally make sure every staff member knows their role in the company and the importance of them being able to do their part so that everyone can work together as one,” Megan adds.
Did we mention that Megan is married to golfing legend Heinrich du Preez? He is a multiple Guinness World Record holder in golf, with 44 records against his name.
She is also a mom? She’s mom to her husband Heinrich’s 17-year-old son Hanno, from his previous marriage, and has three Yorkie babies Beer, Angel and Max. She also recently adopted the family’s newest addition, Scrappy, from the Wetnose animal rescue.
When this businesswoman isn’t running around running the world, she loves to spend time with family, friends, and of course, her dogs. She also loves to travel and works as the travel and business editor for a local magazine – yes, she has more jobs than we can keep track off.
During the month of February we celebrate Valentine’s Day and Megan and Heinrich will be having a special Valentine’s dinner. She will be speaking at a ladies high tea about women empowerment and visit an underprivileged primary school to speak to parents about career choices, but says they always make time for each other. “We typically spend two nights away for Valentine’s Day but will definitely go out for dinner. We love celebrating Valentine’s Day,” she says.
Bubbly Megan and hubby Heinrich met through a mutual friend that wanted her to book him to MC her golf days. “We went on a coffee date at O’Galito in Woodlands Boulevard on 1 November 2010 and the rest, as they say, is history,” Megan gushes. The couple have been together for ten years, and married for six years this May.
“Love to me is finding someone that loves all your imperfections unconditionally. It’s about finding someone that knows all your faults and flaws and loves you for them. Someone that works on your marriage every day, supports you and loves you through the good and the bad. Love means accepting another person in the strongest way possible. It means supporting them in anything and everything, even when you may not agree on the situation. Love means not looking for something better or seeing what’s out there. It means committing to that person because you know they complete you in every way. It doesn’t mean being a replica of another person, but rather being like a puzzle piece that fits perfectly with the other. Your traits complement each other to create better versions of you both,” Megan gushes.
Heinrich has a big influence on Megan’s personal and professional career, says the blonde beauty, Heinrich has taught her almost everything she knows about business. “He taught me to never quit anything you start,” she adds.
“We both started companies from the ground up and once you’ve been in a position where you had nothing before becoming successful together, you never take anything for granted. We both also have compassion for people who struggle but want to work to better themselves and their situation,” she says.
The year might only be two months in, but Megan hit the ground running. She is in the process of opening businesses in Ireland, Windhoek and UK and has a few amazing high profile golf days and events planned this year in South Africa and Swaziland. “I also have my own Guinness world record attempt planned for the end of this year. I already received confirmation from Guinness Book of Records, so I’ll keep you posted,” Megan laughs.
