Max Rommel received honour at the Pattaya City Expats Club meeting on January 6. Max is one of the three founding members of the Club. After his many years of continuous service on the PCEC’s governing board, Max is stepping down because of other commitments. In honour of his many contributions to the Club, Max was presented with a certificate formally proclaiming him to be Board Member Emeritus. The presentation was made by current Board Chairman Pat Koester and the other current Board members in attendance.
Max was also the presenter at the meeting. Max has maintained a history of the Club since its inception. As a disciple of the old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” Max regaled his audience at this week’s meeting with a history of the Pattaya City Expats Club in photos.
Pattaya City Expats Club Board Chairman Pat Koester thanks Max Rommel for his many years of service on the PCEC Board. With many new responsibilities with Rotary, etc, Max felt it best to resign from the board for the time being. Pat presented Max with a certificate recognising his new title ‘’Board Member Emeritus”.
The story of the Pattaya City Expats Club began in early 2001 with three expat residents of Pattaya who felt that there should be a way they and other members of the Pattaya expatriate community could meet to share advice and information about the best way to live and enjoy life in Pattaya. Thus, the club came into existence in early 2001.
In addition to being a founding member, Max continued to contribute his time to the club as a Board member; holding several officer positions including Treasurer, Vice-Chairman, and Chairman. He is the club’s historian as he has kept continuous records of the club that now fill numerous binders. Likewise, he has taken and kept numerous photographs as a visual record.
Max and fellow board members Thor Halland, Richard Smith and Roger Fox present a donation of 50,000 baht from PCEC members & friends to then Pattaya Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn, as aid for the victims of the 2004 Andaman Tsunami.
Max shared photos of the club’s Sunday meetings, member’s dinners and many anniversary celebrations. He also showed photos of outings organised by members of the club, such as to butterfly and crocodile farms, crystal factories, fruit farms and temples. Max talked about some of the special events in which the PCEC participated, such as a carnival in Pattaya, a public exhibit of photos of the Thai royal family, and a public meeting organised by the governor of Chonburi province during the bird flu scare.
Max reminded his audience that PCEC organised a funding drive to help victims of the tsunami that hit Thailand and other countries in December 2004. Max also showed photos of some of the speakers who have entertained members at the club’s Sunday meetings over the years.
After Max concluded his presentation, Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg provided an update on upcoming events and called on Roy Albiston to conduct the Open Forum where questions are asked and answered about expat living in Thailand; Pattaya in particular.
For more information about the many activities of the Pattaya City Expats Club, visit their website at www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com.
As a founder member of Pattaya City Expats Club,
Max shared the interesting history of the club with members and guests, new and old.
Max presents Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh with some birthday cake, on the occasion of the club’s 7th birthday.
Max and Pete Watson man the membership table in this photo from the early years of the now 11 year old club, with membership then costing 100 baht.
