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Hard Rock lights up for charity
Gen. Kanit and Khunying
Busyarat (centre) are flanked by (l-r) Dr. Satthabutr Preutthipan, Pol. Col.
Annonnat Kamolrat, Tracey Cosgrove, George Hazard, Peter Malhotra,
Rattanachai Sutidechanai and Steve Graham at the Christmas tree light up
ceremony.
Dr. Iain Corness
The 7th running of the Hard Rock Hotel’s Christmas Charity Light Up
Dinner was held last weekend, packing the Hall of Fame. The people who
attended were a true cross-section of the Eastern Seaboard community, both
Thai and expats, government officials, NGO’s and private industry, and all
ready to support the charity movement. The sponsors were also varied,
including European Safety Concepts (ESC), Pattaya Mail Media Group,
Chivas, Coke, Singha, and CPN Rotary International District 3340 was
represented by District Governor Pratheep Malhotra.
 District
Governor Pratheep ‘Peter’ Malhotra thanks the Hard Rock and all those
present for helping to Make Dreams Real for the world’s children.
Hosted by the new Hard Rock GM George Hazard (who had the crowd screaming
“Rock ‘n Roll” before going into the Hall of Fame), the event was opened by
General Kanit Permsub, Deputy aide-de-camp, General to His Majesty the King,
who attended with his charming wife Busyarat Permsub.
In his opening speech, General Kanit said, “Christmas and New Year (holiday)
is the most joyful period of the year. It is a time where people share love
with their parents, family and friends. I do believe in the word ‘give’. It
is a meaningful word and whatever we can give means so much for the less
fortunate and in need.
“Tonight is another meaningful night. We are here to raise funds to support
the 150 children at the Baan Hinwong Primary School in Sattahip. With
limited funding from the government, the development of school facilities is
rather difficult and often faces the scarcity of resources such as learning
materials and poor infrastructure. Most of the children come from very poor
families.”
 General
Kanit Permsub presided over this prestigious charity event.
He thanked the Hard Rock for organising the annual Christmas Charity
Christmas Tree Light Up event and thanked Rotary for their support and care
for the people in our community.
Other dignitaries included Pol. Col. Annonnat Kamolrat, superintendent of
the Pattaya Immigration, Pol. Col. Noppadol Wongnom, Superintendent of the
Chonburi police and Ajarn Parichart, principal of Baan Hinwong School.
Several organizations had taken complete tables, such as ESC, executives of
Cornerstone, Raimon Land, the Pattaya Mail, and some of the doctors
from the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, led by Drs. Napaporn and Bhakaporn, had
another full table.
The MD of ESC, Steve Graham, was the guest auctioneer for the evening and
did a great job in turning something which is often a long drawn-out
exercise into a spirited fast bidding war. The amount raised for the Hin
Wong School was over 700,000 baht including US $1,000 from Howard Singleton,
president of the Rotary Club of Lombok in Indonesia, and 20,000 baht from
the Rabbit Resort, according to Tracey Cosgrove, well known for her
enthusiastic running of the Melissa Cosgrove Children’s Foundation, a
charitable organization to which Steve Graham also donated 30,000 baht.
The entertainment was excellent, with Elvis medleys presented by Poo
Sahajak, backed by guitar guru Prod Tanapat, as well as many other musical
scores (hard rock, of course).
This was another very successful event, and it is heart-warming to see that
children from our community will be the recipients. Children are the hope of
tomorrow, let us never forget that. The Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya certainly
hasn’t forgotten as they Make Dreams Real for the world’s children.
Elvis serenades Mrs. Monique
Oliel (George Hazard’s Mom) with a love song.
John Pang receives a personal
word of thanks from Gen. Kanit and Khunying Busyarat for having so
affectionately cared for them throughout the years and wished him all the
best of luck in his future endeavours.
Khunying Busyarat and Gen.
Kanit enjoying every minute of the party.
The lovely Saratama Chaovanit
(Sara) presents a prize to the lucky winner.
Rungratree Thongsai and Tony
Malhotra ease
the guests into what turned out to be a marvellous evening.
Tracy Cosgrove (left) beams as
Wilson Goh (2nd left) stands proudly beside one
of his masterpieces that fetched a handsome sum at the auction.
(L to R) Rotarians Graham
Hunt-Crowley, Dennis Stark, Peter Malhotra,
Elfi Seitz and Richard Haughton drink a round of cheer.
‘Pocky’ Somsakul Ponlachan
(left) assists Steve Graham (right) in the action packed auction. At centre
is a beautiful life-like work of art depicting a rock drummer.
A host of lovely people
adorned the terraces
of the Hard Rock Hotel at the pre-dinner cocktails.
Gen. Kanit presents a portrait
of HRH Princess Sirindhorn to Tony Malhotra who had successfully bid for it.
At left is Rungratree Thongsai and at right is Khunying Busyarat Permsub.
George Hazard (left) greets
Dr. Napaporn, Dr Satthabutr
and Dr. Bhakaporn from the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya.
Sara presents a cuddly teddy
bear to Jimmy Tan,
the executive chef of Hard Rock Hotel.
Pattaya celebrates World AIDS Day handing out free condoms
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Pattaya public health officials and some 500 people took to the streets in a
colorful parade on World AIDS Day on December 1, handing out condoms to
spread the message about the dangers of HIV.
 Wannaporn
Jamjumrus, director of Pattaya’s Public Health gives a passionate speech
about how HIV is still a major threat to many lives.
Students, entertainers, hotel staff and others made a good day of it,
happily parading on Pattaya Beach Road.
At the South Pattaya Pier, Tavich Chaisawangwong, chairman of Pattaya City
Council, opened of the parade in a ceremony attended by Wannaporn Jamjumrus,
director of Pattaya Public Health, health officials and public health
volunteers.
Tavich said this parade sought to remind the public about HIV and ways to
prevent it. It was also hoped to encourage the public to have a positive
attitude towards people affected by HIV.
Director Wannaporn said that Pattaya City believes it is important to mark
World AIDS Day to help prevent the spread of the virus.
 Tavich
Chaisawangwong, chairman of Pattaya City Council reminds people of the
importance of HIV prevention.
“AIDS control and prevention have been successful in Thailand to a level
where the infection rate in groups of people at greatest risk such as drug
addicts, and sex workers, has been stabilized,” she said.
“But the number of victims among youths continues to grow in all parts of
the country due to familial bonds becoming weaker and wrong beliefs
spreading. More support is always needed from both government officials,
public organizations and general public to preventing the spread of the
disease,” she concluded.
In the competition for the best parade showing on the day, winners of the
general public section went to the Royal Twins Palace Hotel, who collected
5,000 baht cash. Second place was Siam Bayshore Hotel (3,000 baht) and third
was the Swing team with 2,000 baht. Prizes were also awarded to the public
health volunteer group and Sister Team.
In the school category, the 10,000 baht first place prize went to Pattaya
City School 8 (Pattayanukul). Second place was Pattaya City School 9 (Wat
Pohsampan) (8,000 baht), and third place Pattaya City 3 School (7,000 baht).
Pattaya City 7 School (Wat Nongpangkae) and an Aksorn school also won 3,000
baht each.
Tourists gladly accept the
free condoms being handed out along Beach Road.
Public health officials
distribute free condoms along Pattaya Beach Road.
Students from the parade
winning team from Pattaya City School 8 (Pattayanukul).
No parade would be complete
without a marching band, and this parade had several.
Umbrella dancers add color and
tradition to the parade.
Students from Pattaya City
School 8 (Pattayanukul)
spread the message that illicit drug use can lead to HIV.
Students dress up for the AIDS
prevention parade on World AIDS day.
Youngsters promote their
school’s message for World AIDS Day.
Marching in the parade can be
fun, too.
Youngsters in colorful
costumes promote anti-AIDS message.
Charity Bazaar deemed a great success
Dr Iain Corness
The Charity bazaar held at the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya last weekend
was a success for everyone involved, especially the underprivileged children
in the Eastern Seaboard area.
This was the fifth running of the charity event, with the Bangkok Hospital
Pattaya dedicating a huge area to the 35 stallholders to display their ‘last
minute’ Xmas gifts, with the sales going towards charitable causes.
 Santa’s
pretty young helpers pose with their teddy bears.
Groups involved included (in no particular order), the Mercy Center, North
Star library, Fr. Ray Foundation, Yorkies Pork Platter, Rayong Bakery, PILC
Welfare, World of Wine, Pattaya Mail, Rayong English Program School
and Carpets by Natiryas Galleria (but the flying carpet stalled and was not
given clearance to land on the roof of the hospital), Rotary Clubs of
Jomtien-Pattaya, Taksin-Pattaya, Pattaya and Eastern Seaboard; Bangkok
Cosmopolitan Lions Club Jomtien, Samosaics, Pattaya Players, Steps and
Rhythm Dance Academy, and several hotels including Dusit Thani, Amari,
Marriott, Best Western Bella Villa, Hard Rock and Hotel Vista.
During the five hour bazaar, shoppers were entertained by different groups,
such as lovely young classical dancers and the Thai classical music
ensemble, complete with ‘Khim’ and ‘Zor’, both from the Rayong English
Program School; a medley of Xmas songs were presented by the Trio group
(Ajarn Dang, K. Nok and K. Aoy) and finally some very energetic Korean
dancers from the Youth With A Mission movement, followed by traditional Xmas
carols sung in the foyer by the Pattaya Christian Church.
However, for all children, the highlight of the bazaar was the arrival of
Santa Claus, complete with two very pretty young helpers, all in appropriate
costume. The children from the Mercy Center were first in line, shepherded
by “Mother” Dianne Doell, followed by a group of youngsters from the
Redemptorist Center’s Blind School. This was particularly touching, as these
were children who would never ‘see’ Santa, but were given the opportunity to
‘experience’ Santa. The deep ‘wais’ given to Santa were certainly
tear-provoking.
All the other children enjoyed the once a year experience, and it was good
to see so many parents there to share the magic of Santa with their
families. My young family joins with all other families with children of
that special age to enjoy the legend of Santa Claus and looks forward to
seeing him again at the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya next year!
The 35 stallholders display
their ‘last minute’ Xmas gifts,
with the sales going towards charitable causes.
Lovely young classical dancers
entertained the crowd.
PILC makes monthly food drop
Ingrid Cunliffe,
PILC Welfare Committee
The PILC started a regular food drop programme 5 months ago to help
support the 85 families that Kate’s Project helps in the Mabprachan and
surrounding area, reaching as far as South Sukhumvit Road.
 Children
from the Fountain of Life help distribute the food.
Our budget allows us to be able to give a food bag consisting of 3 kilos
of rice, a large bottle fish sauce, a large bottle oil, 10 pkts of mama
noodles and 8 tins of sardines, as this is the staple diet of many in
the area.
Each month we are able to give to 20 families in the project, and we
also deliver bags to Ban Rak Peun, the AIDS home at Mabprachan, and bags
to the Street Kids at the Independent Living centre.
This month (Dec), we were very fortunate to have a PILC member donate an
extra 6000 baht, so we were able to double the amount of food, which was
fantastic for this time of year. Many thanks to her.
We have the Fountain Of Life purchase the food and the older kids help
bag it up, which is great for their math skills! I also take 2 kids from
the center with me to help, and despite these kids coming from such
poverty themselves, it’s always a great thing to hear them talk about
how they are helping the poor. Once they are back at school, they then
have to tell the other kids in a talk what they did on the food drop,
and it’s really heart-warming to instill in these kids that giving is
good, no matter what you have or don’t have.
I would like to thank all the ladies from the club who have helped this
year with the food drops, and Noi, who gets the families ready and
organised in such a great manner.
I look forward to the next one in January.
The residents are grateful
for the help.
PILC members pose behind
the prepared food packages.
Residents and benefactors
are all happy for the effort.
Sikhs donate rice to local welfares
The Garunyawet Home for
the Disabled gratefully receives 30 bags
of rice from Pattaya’s Sikh community.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
The Thai-Sikh community donated 90 bags of rice worth 100,000
baht to charities helping the disabled, elderly and orphans in
Banglamung District on the occasion of HM the King’s birthday.
The Thai-Sikh Walk for Health Club and members of Morning Group Bewja
Garden, led by Amrik Singh Kalra, president of Pattaya’s Sikh community,
and Pratheep S. Malhotra, Rotary International District 3340 governor,
made the donation on the royal birthday on December 5.
Thirty bags of rice each were donated to three charitable organizations:
Banglamung Social Welfare Development Center for Older Persons,
currently looking after 250 aged residents; Garunyawet Home for the
Disabled, caring for 382 people with disability and no home; and
Banglamung Home for Boys, which cares for 150 male orphans aged 5-18.
Amrik said many Thai-Sikhs traveled from Bangkok to Banglamung to donate
the rice and to commemorate HM the King’s birthday.
Pattaya’s Sikh community
donates 30 bags of rice
to the Banglamung Social Welfare Development Center for Older Persons.
Joint Foreign Chambers gather at Northpoint to spread Xmas cheer
Dr. Iain Corness
The Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce met at Raimon Land’s Northpoint
project to celebrate a Xmas networking. And celebrate, they did, with a
free flow of wines and beers and food supplied by the Amari Resort and
Tower.
 (L
to R) Neil Hutchinson, director of construction, Raimon Land Plc; Gerry
Healy, RL; Richard Bell, CMC, talk about life whist sipping on their
Asahi.
The chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers, Nando G. von der Luehe
admitted that currently the situation in Thailand is troubled, but
stated in his address to the members that “crisis is opportunity” and
his idea was applauded by all the positive people in the audience.
One of the most positive people in Thailand is the CEO of Raimon Land,
Nigel Cornick. In an interview with the Pattaya Mail TV, he
reminded everyone that one year ago, the Northpoint development had
reached four floors, amidst mutterings that it would never get finished.
During the week before this 2008 Xmas networking night they had capped
the roof, having reached the 54th floor. In that time, the real estate
values per square meter had also gone up strongly, and he saw no real
reason to be downhearted about the current situation. Certainly Thailand
would need a strong government, but both Thailand and Nigel (who has
been here for 18 years) had weathered previous storms and he was
confident they would do it again.
 One
of the most positive people in Thailand is the CEO of Raimon Land, Nigel
Cornick.
Greg Watkins, the executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce,
was another to admit that the situation was not how his chamber would
prefer, but that it, and Thailand would survive the current problems.
These sentiments were echoed by Shane Torr, president of the Australian
Thai Chamber of Commerce. Simon Matthews from Manpower also added that
even during downturns, there is still a need for skilled staff,
especially in the hospital/medical fields. The Bangkok Hospital Pattaya
team of Neil Maniquiz and Ann Wangviryaphan agreed wholeheartedly, as
medical tourism is still an important part of the hospital’s facilities!
The Asian University chaps, Asst. Prof. Prayoon Tosanguan and Kelley
Ritchie, from the Faculty of Business, acknowledged today’s problems but
said they were training tomorrow’s business leaders to hopefully avoid
the pitfalls the current lot were embroiled in, whilst people like
Barrie and Mandy Carter, Jimmy and Jenny Howard, Peter Smith from AA
Insurance Brokers and Maurice Bromley and his lovely wife Angelita, just
enjoyed the Xmas spirit(s)!
It was a fitting final networking evening for 2008, and all the chambers
of commerce are to be congratulated on the work they have done in this
past year, and a vote of thanks to all the sponsors of the events during
the year who made it all possible.
Greg Watkins (left),
executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce,
calls out the lucky draw numbers.
Las & Judith Edmonds enjoy
a moment in the spotlight.
(L to R) Jeerat, Alan
Verstein and
Rock D. Zulumkhanov are found to be enjoying the ambiance.
(L to R) Jimmy Duncan and
Keith Wilson
discuss the ways of the world over red and white.
John and Hester
Collingbourne are all smiles at the event.
(L to R) Mattiya; John L.
Hamilton, director of transportation & industrial services for Waste
Management Siam; and Steve Duckworth, general manager, Waste Management
Siam enjoy getting away from the office for a while.
Sue K and Remy Maeder
share a laugh.
(L to R) Kavita Lamba,
Pratheep S. Malhotra,
Reg Knowles, and Judy Hoppe are happy to be here.
(From left) Brendan
Richards, Peter Smith,
and Ron Keeley discuss the political situation.
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