"The foundation upon which Rotary is built is friendship; on no less firm foundation could it have stood" - Paul Harris, founder of Rotary
Pattaya Mail Reporters
February 12, 2012, marked the 25th anniversary of the
Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya. This auspicious date did not go unnoticed as
almost 200 Rotarians and guests filled the Grand Ballroom of the Royal Cliff
Grand Hotel on February 25 to show their appreciation and give thanks to a
handful of men and women for their admirable humanitarian work for the
underprivileged and needy people in their communities, often with the
assistance of international Rotarians in many parts of the world.
PDG Xanxai Visitkul expounds
on the philosophy and principles of Rotary.
President Gudmund Eiksu nd welcomed the gathering,
comprising many members of our Rotary fraternities from close by and as far
away as the USA and Australia, establishing an international milieu, which
is quintessentially the Rotary spirit.
The ambience was one of extreme warmth, as Rotarians,
guests and friends greeted each other - some after long absences. A
sumptuous buffet and steady flow of vintage wines, spirits, beer and soft
drinks soon put an already-relaxed crowd into a state verging on euphoria.
A delightful dance troupe from the Baan Jing Jai
Children’s Home comprising of angelic little girls in beautiful Thai
costumes regaled the room as they welcomed the guests with the traditional
‘Ram Ouayporn’ dance.
PDG Peter Malhotra speaks
about the history of the club.
Dr. Paolo Battaglino, Honorary Consul of the Republic of
Italy and his family, along with Senator Sutham Phanthusak and Deputy Mayor
Ronakit Ekasingh gave a sense of distinction to the event by their presence.
A delegation from District 3350 included Past District
Governors Xanxai Visitkul, Chairman of the Rotary Centre in Thailand, PDG
Chow Nararidh, Mr. Roadman, PDG Krit Indhewat, Rotary International’s Fiscal
Agent in Thailand, PDG Krai Tangsanga and his charming wife Rungnapha.
Of note was an even larger delegation led by President
Mark Butters from the Rotary Club of Bangkok South who 25 years ago
sponsored the creation of the first English language club in Pattaya. The
Rotary Club of Bangkok South had just celebrated their 50th anniversary a
few months ago, so President Mark took the opportunity to present President
Gudmund Eiksund with an exquisitely bound 50th
anniversary commemorative book of their club.
President Gudmund welcomes
guests to the celebrations.
PDG Peter offered a most enlightening discourse on the
formation of Rotary more than a century ago and the chartering of his own
club, the Jomtien-Pattaya saying, “This is a day that we should not only
celebrate but we should also spare a thought for some of the great Rotarians
who helped form this club and carved out the path of service to humanity
which we follow faithfully to this day.
“But let’s go back a little further to before our birth.
A handful of Rotarians, members of the Rotary Club of Pattaya had a mutual
vision. They saw that Pattaya was ready for an English-speaking club. They
knew that our community was fast growing into an international community and
there would be a huge influx of people who had or would have the same vision
as Rotarians, seeking an opportunity to serve.
PDG Premprecha Dibbayawan
extols on the good virtues of Rotary, the world’s foremost service
organization.
“Some of this group included PP Hans Zurfluh, PP Alois X
Fassbind, Gene Farley, PP Hank Whittaker, Dang Harbhajan and Bill Burbridge.
“Having decided to form a new English speaking Rotary
Club they requested the permission of the district who appointed PP Nitti
Meyer as the special representative of the District Governor to guide and
help us charter our club. The Rotary Club of Bangkok South kindly agreed to
be our sponsor club.
“Now Pattaya was a totally new ‘market’ so to speak, so
to find a group of English speaking residents of Pattaya who would
understand and join an organization that they had little or no knowledge of,
was a challenge in itself.”
PP Nitti Meyer was the
district governor’s special representative who helped form the Rotary Club
of Jomtien-Pattaya 25 years ago.
Peter continued, “It all started when about 40 people
gathered at the preliminary meeting to listen to PDG Prapan Hutasingh talk
to us about the Rotary movement. Prapan walked around the room asking each
individual of the reason why they wanted to join Rotary. As he moved from
person to person, my mind was thinking fast, what would be my answer?
“Then it was my turn and he asked me the question. I
stood up and said, I’m not really sure, but from what I hear, I can do some
good for the community and help those who need relief.”
Senator Sutham Phanthusak
extends his best wishes to Rotarians one and all.
As a provisional club, there were many more introductory
meetings held, but the group dwindled with every session until there were
only a handful of potential members who persevered and came back to the
meetings. Finally with the support of 25 unrelenting members, the paperwork
went through at Rotary International headquarters and the Rotary Club of
Jomtien-Pattaya received its charter on the 12th day of February 1987.
Peter went on to say, “The story of our club is a long
and honourable one, but not without our growing pains. Like any other
organization we had our ups and downs but through the years we have remained
united and prevailed.
Radchada Chomjinda (Toy) from
the Pattaya Orphanage introduces the two boys who are supported by the
Rotary Club in the R.O.S.E. (Rotary Orphan Student Exchange) program.
“There have been and are many noteworthy Rotarians in our
club that have kept us upright in our undertakings and have brought us much
honour.
“Our club has been the basis of introducing other
non-Thai speaking clubs in Pattaya, namely the Rotary Clubs Eastern
Seaboard, Rotary Club Taksin Pattaya, Rotary Club Pattaya Marina (French)
and Rotary Club of Phoenix Pattaya (German).”
Peter continued, “We must not neglect to honour our past
presidents who have dedicated so much to keep our club’s flag flying high
with pride. The history of our club is full of legendary Rotarians. From our
charter president Hans Zurfluh to the present president Gudmund Eiksund we
have helped and served hundreds of thousands of men, women and children with
our sacrifice and unbounded humanitarian projects. We could mention many
more names but where do we stop?”
GM Joachim Grill (right)
presents a bouquet on behalf of the Royal Cliff Hotels Group to President
Gudmund.
Past President Dennis Stark spoke of a couple of
distinguished members, “Our greatest pride and joy is of course our very own
charter member Premprecha Dibbayawan, who served twice as president of our
club and then went on to serve as District Governor for Rotary International
District 3340 in the year 2000-01. In addition another charter member,
Pratheep ‘Peter’ Malhotra also served as District Governor of District 3340
in the year 2008-09. He now serves as the Rotary Public Image Coordinator
Zone 6B, which covers 9 districts in 9 countries in Asia.”
In conclusion PDG Peter expressed his feelings about the
present and future of the Rotary movement in Thailand and around the world,
“This is the opportune time and moment to re-commit ourselves to Rotary. Our
chance to do our duty. Our chance to carry the torch of Rotary and keep the
fires of Service burning bright, for this and for many generations of
Rotarians to come.
PDG Xanxai Visitkul presents
the Paul Harris recognition to William Macey of the Pattaya Sports Club.
“There are so many good and upstanding people out there
who are waiting to be recognized, waiting to be invited in, waiting to be
given an Opportunity to Serve. Open your hearts to them. Give them Rotary.
Make this a most meaningful 25th birthday ever, for our Rotary Club, for our
community and for all humankind.”
To quote Past Rotary International President Bhichai
Rattakul’s words: “I believe we can change the world, one life at a time. No
project is too small or insignificant, especially to those who benefit. My
hope is that these seeds of service will blossom and live on for countless
generations to come.”
PDG Xanxai Visitkul gave a most profound insight into the
meaning of Rotary and what it entails to be a Rotarian, before being called
upon to bestow a Paul Harris Fellow recognition to William Macey, the
charity chairman of the Pattaya Sports Club.
Norwegian star Rune Larsen
had the crowed tapping their feet.
As was explained by PDG Xanxai, these awards are Rotary’s
way of saying thank you to Rotarians or any individual for their sacrifices
and dedication to betterment of humanity as a whole and more especially to
those who contribute generously in any form to improve the lot of all
mankind. Thus helping the Rotary movement and the more than 1.2 million
Rotarians around the world do the things that they do best and that is ‘to
serve’.
A humongous birthday cake was rolled out to the floor and
as the crowd sang Happy Birthday, President Gudmund Eiksund surrounded by
dignitaries and members of the Rotary club blew out the candles and cut it,
auguring in another 25 hopeful years of humanitarian service to the
community.
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh
presents a bouquet to President Gudmund Eiksund.
William Macey presents a
cheque to President Gudmund to support the club’s humanitarian projects.
President Mark Butters (RCBS)
presents a 50th anniversary commemorative book to President Gudmund Eiksund.
President Gudmund presents an
Outstanding Service Above Self award to PDG Peter Malhotra for 25 years of
dedicated service to Rotary, as charter member, President (twice) and
District Governor.
Past and future Presidents of
the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya line up for a photograph. (l-r) Dieter
Reigber, Jan Abbink, Judy Hoppe, Gudmund Eiksund, Alvi Sinthuvanik,
Premprecha Dibbayawan, Dennis Stark, Max Rommel and Peter Malhotra.
President Gudmund cuts the
birthday cake, watched by PP Dennis Stark and PP Max Rommel.
Jan Olav Aamlid seems
thrilled as Senator Sutham Phanthusak greets President Gudmund.
PDG Krit Indhewat enjoys
fellowship with PDG Krai Tungsanga and his charming wife Rungnapha.
It was good to see Stefan
Ryser (seated left) attend the function.
PDG Chow Nararidh holds court
with PDG Premprecha Dibbayawan, PDG Jin Srikasikorn and P. Malakul.
