The Manchester United players on
stage with sponsors and organizers during the Myanmar leg of their trip where
over 30,000 US dollars were raised for charity.
Paul Strachan
The ballroom at the Centara Grande Mirage Beach Resort was temporarily
transformed into the ‘theatre of dreams’ for many local football fans on
Saturday, June 11 as the Legacy of Legends kicked off the Pattaya leg of their
inaugural charity drive with a gala dinner featuring former Manchester United
players Clayton Blackmore, Denis Irwin, Lee Sharpe & Andy Cole.
Legacy of Legends is Thailand’s first sport and entertainment charity event
promoter. One of the organization’s chief driving forces is Kevin Fisher, who
has invested in these high profile events featuring sporting heroes in support
of multiple charities in Thailand. He is a long-term resident in Thailand and
recognized an opportunity for businesses to assist in helping many non-profit
charity organizations in order to build a better life for the needy and the
under-privileged.
(From left) former Manchester
United stars Clayton Blackmore, Lee Sharpe, Andy Cole & Denis Irwin talk on
stage at the Centara Grande Mirage Beach Resort in Pattaya, Saturday, June 8.
Kevin is used to facing tragic circumstances himself during
his previous work in Africa, where he helped provided transport facilities for
victims suffering with the HIV/AIDs virus and their families. He saw kids and
adults taken far too soon from this earth because of this terrible disease and
this gave him a strong mind and determination to help kids and sustainable
organizations in Thailand. He uses his own financial resources from his business
CEA Co., Ltd to sponsor projects and events such as this one at Centara and also
encourages other businesses to get involved in corporate social responsibility.
The Centara Grande Mirage & Spa has been the venue for many special parties over
the years and this time the management delivered a first class event, with a
delicious five-course meal accompanied by free flow wine, beer and soft drinks.
(Left) Yves Baron Le Tenor wows
guests with his rendition of “Barcelona.”.
The ballroom was the perfect setting and after the guests
were seated the MC introduced the first entertainer of the evening, the
wonderful singing voice of Yves Baron Le Tenor, who set the mood perfectly by
performing a stirring rendition of the Freddy Mercury/ Montserrat Caballé hit
song “Barcelona”, the Spanish city coincidentally being the scene of one of
Manchester United’s greatest footballing triumphs.
Following Yves Baron onto the stage were the children from the Mechai Pattana
School who provided a truly moving performance of “We Are The World”, that left
precious few dry eyes in the house. These children represent one of the four
beneficiaries that Legacy of Legends is supporting.
The Mechai Viravaidya Foundation has recently been focusing on youth
philanthropy and education through the Mechai Pattana School, the Green Village
Toy Library, and the Youth Philanthropy program to ensure that children grow up
to be good citizens and recognize the joy of doing public good.
Legacy of Legends also assist the Camillian Home which is a registered
non-profit children’s charity in Lat Krabang, Bangkok. It is a unique facility
designed to allow Orphaned children living with HIV/AIDs and disabilities to
receive specialized care and treatment in an environment that encourages and
develops the capability of each child, regardless of the severity of their
condition.
Kevin Fisher - one of the
founders of Legacy of Legends.
The third charity is Women with a Mission, which is a private
voluntary organization working to make a positive difference to the lives of
children living along the Thailand/Myanmar border and families in the region of
Chonburi. They believe that individuals who actively participate in community
development can make a difference and they accept their responsibility to help
those who find themselves in situations beyond their own control.
The fourth beneficiary of Legacy of Legends is Operation Smile, which is an
international children’s medical charity that heals children’s smiles, forever
changing their lives by providing safe, effective reconstructive surgery and
related medical care for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lip
and cleft palate.
The four ex-professional footballers, the stars at this event, have taken the
charity angle of this trip to their hearts and have been active in encouraging
support of worthy causes during their time here in Pattaya, Bangkok and also in
Myanmar.
Along with gala dinners and golf fundraising events, the four also took part in
a special soccer training school in Bangkok last week to encourage Thai children
from all backgrounds to take up sport.
Whilst waiting for the footballing icons to make their grand appearance at
Centara last Saturday, the hundreds of guest in attendance were kept happily
entertained with music from classical guitarist Nattachai and the Violin
Princess - Rungarun Junghenjit –and also the hilarious and irreverent comedy of
Australia’s Jonathan Atherton.
Kevin Fisher (left) poses for a
photo with Daniel Boccalini, Host of True Visions ‘My Second Home’ and H.E Mark
Kent British Ambassador to Thailand during the Legends gala dinner in Bangkok
last week.
Finally the moment arrived that all had been waiting for as
the Manchester United stars were led into the ballroom by the Mechai Pattana
School children before being invited onto the stage by the MC. Each player then
gave some humerous and often insightful anecdotes of their time playing for one
of the world’s greatest football clubs under the stewardship of managerial
legend Sir Alex Ferguson, before the MC passed the mikes around the floor for
guests to direct questions to their soccer heroes.
A charity auction then followed hosted by John Collingbourne that featured some
highly desirable items of football and Manchester United related memorabilia and
that raised many thousands of baht for the charities already mentioned.
There was still time for the players to join guests on the dance floor for the
closing disco and to sign some final autographs before they retired for the
evening in preparation for their morning flight to Myanmar.
The Manchester United players were due to return to Pattaya on Wednesday, June
12 for a charity golfing event at Phoenix Golf Club and a report of this event
will feature in next week’s Pattaya Mail.
For anyone wishing to know more about Legacy of Legends and their proposed
future events, go to website:
www.legacyoflegends.org.
Andy Cole poses with 2 happy
young United fans from the Mechai Pattana School.
Manchester United’s new Brazilian
fan club.
Clayton Blackmore is flanked by the
lovely Kaew and Teay.
The Mechai Pattana School children
sing “We Are The World.”
Joe Cox (right), MD of Defence
International Security Services, who celebrated his birthday on the same evening
as the Pattaya football dinner is congratulated by Irena De Ribas of The Russian
Real Estate Magazine.
Pattaya Reds get ready to meet their footballing
heroes.
Dennis Irwin (right) jokes with guests at the dinner
table.
