Boksburg Lake Rotary president shares his journey
President of Boksburg Lake Rotary, Nicky Savvides (80), has been a prominent resident of Boksburg for 57 years.
Savvides moved to Boksburg with his wife, Joy Braam, in 1960 and they have lived here ever since.
The couple raised their children in Boksburg and three of them are still residents of the city.
Savvides fondly remembers the old Ster Cinema in Bloem Street.
This was the new cinema after the old Plaza across the road from the town hall was no longer in use.
As a boy, Savvides would spend his Saturdays at the cinema, watching cowboy trailers, which cost six pennies (five cents).
“If your mother gave you a shilling to go to the bioscope’s matinee, you could also buy a bar of hard toffees, which would last the whole show,” Savvides said.
In 1974, Savvides opened Nick’s Hardware and Garden Centre in Boksburg, where he was a well-known and beloved figure until he retired at the age of 77 in 2013.
He was “the man with the beard” in the shop and he still trims his beard to this day.
He was also a long-standing member of the East Rand Yacht Club at the Cinderella Dam.
In 1976, he was recruited by equally well-known Boksburg photographer Jack van der Spuy to join Rotary, and he became one of the charter members of Rotary Club Boksburg Lake in 1977.
At the age of 49, Savvides became the first club president, leading the club during the year 1985-1986.
In his service to Rotary, he has been recognised as a Paul Harris Fellow, a highly esteemed Rotary International acknowledgement that is issued by the Rotary Foundation.
