<B>A captain in the world of work</B>

Recognized as one of the best local golf clubs, Golf du Château has since its creation been managed by the South African sports devotee, Steven Schearer. He has rapidly adapted to Mauritian life and looks forward to spending quite some time here. ?Wonderful? is the word he uses most frequently to describe how he sees life here.

Steven Shearer was born in South Africa, more precisely in Port-Elizabeth some 37 years ago. He also owns a British passport through his Scottish parents. After having done a bachelor in commerce, Steven worked in an insurance company called Liberty Life for four and half years. In 1998, he was offered a position at Sun City, a complex of four hotels and 900 rooms, with two golf courses. In fact he was in charge of them. After Sun City, he was named general manager of Pecanwood golf club. ?Over there I learnt a lot about how to deal with people. It was a great experience.? Since 2004, he has been the manager of Golf du Château at Bel-Ombre.

?I feel very fortunate to be working in a great atmosphere with lots of good people around me. It is very helpful. I enjoy the work so much that once, I told the workers that I am not the boss and that they are not the employees. Actually they should consider themselves as part of a team where I am just the captain.?

All his life, Steven has tried to find time for his beloved hobby: sport. Indeed, he is fond of cricket, rugby, soccer and many other sports. But obviously, his favourite remains golf. However, he says he prefers practising a sport, rather than being just a spectator. This great sportsman has been playing golf as his main occupation since he was 13 years old. While he worked for Sun City, he got the opportunity to meet some great figures in the golfing world such as Ernie Elf, Retief Goosen or even the mighty and famous Tiger Woods.

Steven got married to a South-African lady called Natalie in 1996. He has two sons ? Cameron, six years old and Murray, three. Before coming to Mauritius, the whole family was living in Port-Elizabeth. They now live in Tamarin and they really enjoy it. ?At the beginning we had some difficulties settling down. But finally we got used to the Mauritian lifestyle very well. My wife now has a lot of friends. And so do I, in my workplace. As for the kids, they love their school and that makes me really happy.?

Steven has now eight months left on his current contract. With his wife and two sons, who have all fallen in love with Mauritius, he now hopes his contract will be renewed by Golf du Château. ?I would love to spend some more time here. First of all, for the place itself that I find incredibly nice. But also because, as I have been the director of Golf du Château since it was created, I would like to see how it expands while I am still at the head of it??