ST MICHAEL’S REMAINS COMMITTED TO THE COMMUNITY

St Michael’s Ambulance Service remains committed to being at the heart of the Midlands community.

Their services stretch from Mooi River and the Drakensberg all the way to Pietermaritzburg and everything in between.

Former owner, Ryan King, has sold the company to HeliONE

Pty Ltd, the directors being Leon and Kelly van der Merwe and Riaz Nakooda, who said the relationships established by the King family had given the business a solid foundation.

“We still plan to be community-based,” said Kelly, who will be running the day-to-day operations at St Michael’s. “We’re locals and we want to uplift our local community.

“We will continue to do community outreach projects at schools and other events as before, but plan to elevate the company to new levels of professionalism and service.”

Kelly and Leon are both qualified pilots and run an aviation company, AviationONE, from various airports in South Africa.

Their established firm has an excellent track record of providing air support for other emergency flying services including, but not limited to, flying organs for vital transplant operations.

“We have been providing air support for the emergency services for over 10 years in Southern Africa, and now we want to grow the ground side through St Michael’s,” Kelly said.

Having a passion for farming Leon and Kelly relocated to the Midlands to continue to breed stud Brahman cattle in the Lidgetton

Valley. Kelly and Riaz were vital role players in forming the Midlands Food Bank which alleviated the poverty of the Midlands during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was then that these life-long friendships were initiated and were nurtured into today’s partnership with St Michael’s Ambulance Service.

Riaz Nakooda, being born and bred in the Midlands and also having a farming background in the poultry industry, has vast business experience in franchising, marketing and networking to grow the St Michael’s brand to be the number one service provider in the Midlands. Leon has a medical background and will be heading up the crew and base management.

If you would like to contact St Michael’s Ambulance Service, phone 071 784 5761.

The St Michael’s Ambulance Service team has qualified medics who can do search and rescue as well as a support team for the ground and air. Give them a call if you are organising at event in the area and they will tailormake a quote to suit your needs.

Leon van der Merwe, one of the new directors of St Michael’s Ambulance Service.

Kelly van der Merwe and Riaz Nakooda, two of the new directors of St Michael’s Ambulance Service.