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   FEATURES

HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:
Skal International in Pattaya and the East forges ahead

Thought for the week: Yet another two essentials for face to face selling

Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind celebrate Teacher’s Appreciation Day

Uwe’s birthday party raises funds for charity

Jotun Thailand assists Rotary Club to paint school

Pattaya Animal Welfare Society, (PAWS) Help Line

Funny Hats and First Lady Presidents

Leo Company Sponsors ATCC Seaboard Sundowners

Emirates celebrate 10th Anniversary in Style

No Longer the Cultural Backwater?

Starting early for Xmas

Skal International in Pattaya and the East forges ahead

Skallegues met for their monthly luncheon at the Benjarong Restaurant in the exclusive Royal Wing of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort.

Members of Skal International - Pattaya and the East met at the Benjarong in the Royal Wing of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort.

The meeting was chaired President Wicha Han and the committee meeting directed it’s attention to the matter of re-activating the club and assembling new and old members. Club Secretary Andrew Wood announced that currently 19 member application forms had been submitted, over the pre-required minimum of 15 members to initiate the club. At this meeting it was agreed that the name of the club should appeal to a wide group of tourism professionals as possible. It was unanimously decided that the name of the club would be “Skal International-Pattaya and the East.”

President Wicha Han identified the goals of Skal and the wider benefits to Pattaya and the East to have an internationally recognised tourism and travel club active in the eastern seaboard once again. Vice President Peter Malhotra chaired a very enthusiastic debate, on how the club could work towards the benefit of Pattaya and the community.

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Thought for the week: Yet another two essentials for face to face selling

by Richard Townsend, Corporate Learning Consultant
http://www.orglearn.org

5. Listen for the way forward

Active listening is probably the most important skill a salesperson needs to develop. Let’s be honest, most of us are fairly poor listeners; impatience, constant mental planning of our response and our desire to talk tend to make us jump in before we get the full picture. There are three stages of listening that effective salespeople need to understand. Firstly, to focus on what is being said by being quiet, and confirming our attention by using appropriate gestures such as nodding and a culturally acceptable level of eye contact. Secondly we need to reflect on what has been said by asking ‘open’ questions that will encourage the speaker to reemphasize their main points and clarify areas we may not understand. Lastly, we need to summarize the speaker’s main points to demonstrate we have understood their message. Summaries ARE NOT retelling the story, just a reiteration of the main points. The skill of summarizing is quite difficult to master and needs to be practiced. To be a really great listener we need to adapt our communication style that of the message sender.

6. Look for the buying signals

Few buyers will say, “I’m ready to buy.” Salespeople need to be alert for the clues and tips a buyer can give that will tell them when it’s time to ask for the sale. A practiced feel for the meaning of gestures, body language and positive facial expressions (a lifted eyebrow, a smile, a nod) and how to recognise when these ‘non verbals’ represent a strong buying signal will significantly improve ‘closing rates’. A professional salesperson will also understand that the ‘ask for the sale’ time (buying signal) can come at any time during the interview, not just at the salesperson’s preconceived time for the close. Detect a buying hint from the prospect... CLOSE and shut up! Listening with our eyes takes much practice and we should set up situations where we can view body language in action, either through role-plays or videos of successful sales negotiations. As with active listening, matching or adapting our style and gestures (without mimicking) to that of the prospect is a great way to improve sales communication.

Worth a thought!

To contact Ric mailto: [email protected]

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Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind celebrate Teacher’s Appreciation Day

Mr. Suranit Ahcharyt from the Bang Lamung Educational Department and the Redemptorist Center Administrator Father Patrick Maurice presided over the Teacher’s Appreciation Day ceremony at the Redemptorist School on the morning of 30 June.

Blind student pay their respects to Father Patrick Maurice and other teachers

The School for the Blind opened on 18 May 1987, and the annual ceremonial custom with students paying respects to their teachers and school administrators began the following year and has continued each year thereafter.

The school currently has 211 persons with sight disabilities and 144 are eligible for support from various private educational assistance programs. The school has 19 teachers, seven assistant teachers and 10 assistants who attend to the student’s special needs with support from a Royal Program in the name of Her Royal Highness Mahachakri Sirindhorn, charitable organisations and private donors.

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Uwe’s birthday party raises funds for charity

Mr Uwe Sonthof, owner of Pattaya’s well-known German restaurant ‘Deutsche Schaenke’, on Naklua Road, continued on with what he had started on his previous birthday. He invited his friends and customers to the party, asking them not to bring gifts but instead to put some money into a collection box. This year the party was held at Uwe’s newly opened ‘Lemon Pub’, located only a few hundred metres from his restaurant. Uwe called and many people came, feeding the collection box as soon as they entered the Pub. Uwe has promised to either double the amount or at least generously round it up.

We will keep you informed just how much the amount of money is, which Uwe will in turn present to Mayor Pairat to help him with his charity work.

The picture shows Mr Uwe Sonthof, blowing out the candles on his birthday cake, while the large crowd of friends cheer him on.

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Jotun Thailand assists Rotary Club to paint school

Earlier this year, Rotary District Governor and Past President of the Rotary Club Jomtien Pattaya, Prempreecha Dibbayawan, visited a teacher’s home at the Banglamung School. After noticing that it urgently needed painting inside and outside, he found out that neither the school, nor the teacher herself, had enough money for the renovation work.

Past President of the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya and Rotarian Karl Lohr seem extremely pleased after the painting of the school was completed.

This lady, was not only a parent teacher, but also the supervisor of The Interact Club of the Banglamung School and at the same time takes care of needy pupils. A big part of her salary was therefore being spent on the care of these children.

The Jomtien-Pattaya Rotary Club, after learning about this teacher, decided to help upgrade her home to a decent standard. Checking the house, it was obvious that just a paint job would not be enough, since wood work, plumbing and electrical repairs were required as well.

The Managing Director of Jotun Thailand, Bjorn Naglestad, became involved and offered to donate the paint for the interior and the exterior of the house. To complete the picture, one member of the Jomtien-Pattaya Rotary Club, Hans-Juergen Lohr, surveyed the work and carried out the necessary repairs using all the donated material.

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Pattaya Animal Welfare Society, (PAWS) Help Line

I am an American planning on returning to Thailand to do some charity work at a Karen village north of Chiang Mai. I want to bring my dog, a German shepherd mix, to Thailand. One of my main concerns is dog fights with the local dogs. I will be arriving and staying in an area in Bangkok that has lots of street dogs. I will then continue travelling north by bus.

My questions are these - Is this a crazy idea to bring a dog to Thailand? Can dogs travel in busses and taxis? Will I be constantly breaking up dog fights? Regards, Todd.

Dear Todd,

Thank you for your inquiry about bringing your dog to Thailand. We believe there are no quarantine restrictions for animal re-entry to the U.S. Only a valid rabies certificate issued by a qualified vet. However it would be advisable to check on current regulations over there.

Where would you house your dog in Bangkok? It would not be practical to leave it on the street. If your dog is an intact male, sure there will be dog fights. However training your dog and having it on a leash when out in public would prevent this. Living in a village there would certainly be constant fights with the village dogs, unless you could find a way to isolate or fence in your dog. Then there is the climate. Thailand is rather hot for a German shepherd. You could travel in taxis with an animal as long as it was leashed, or crated as baggage on a bus (you would have to have it crated to fly it over here anyway.) These are the pros and cons that may be of some assistance in making a decision. Good luck.

PAWS, Pattaya Animal Welfare Society, meets at 7.30p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month at Delaneys Pub Pattaya 2nd Road. PAWS main target is fundraising to build an animal shelter in addition to outside inoculation programmes. Membership 200 baht. All welcome, come along and help PAWS help Pattaya stray animals. Inquiries PAWS secretary Bob Davis telephone 225514 Ext 224. Email <[email protected]>

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Funny Hats and First Lady Presidents

The Jomtien-Pattaya Rotary Club celebrated the installation of the first expat lady President in the history of Rotary in Thailand last Friday evening. At what could only be described as a Hollywood showbiz spectacular, Pattaya resident Erika Keller popped out of a birthday cake (fully clothed!) to welcome all the guests to her installation.

“Official” table. (From left) DG Premprecha Dibbayawan, Bruno Keller,
HE Bernard Freymond the Swiss Ambassador, President Keller Erika Keller, Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat , Past President Bancha Mungchana, PDG Somchai and PDG Niwet Khunawisarut

With “ringmaster” Michael Vogt and MC’s Peter Malhotra and Tui moving the show along, the entertainment acts followed even more song and dance routines, and the guests at the Grand Ballroom of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort really started to get into the swing of the Swiss themed evening. To the accompaniment of cow bells and Alpine horns, Erika and her new Board of Directors of the Jomtien-Pattaya Rotary Club were presented to the other Rotarians and guests, who had come from all over Thailand to witness this ground breaking event.

The Swiss community had also very much got behind the petite, but forceful Erika, with Swissair supremo Brian Sinclair-Thompson being on hand to present Swissair tickets to the lucky grand winner of the raffle draw. Roche Pharmaceuticals, Zurich Insurances, Diethelm Travel, Bangkok Airways and the Pattaya Mail all assisted to make the night a memorable one.

Out of the cake spring Oi, Tuk and Erika

The event was even important enough to bring the Swiss Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Bernard Freymond, down to Pattaya to see what all the local Swiss/German people can get up to when given an opportunity to celebrate an event such as this one. And celebrate they did, with acts from the very talented Daisy Vogt and adagio dancing friends, Monika Rottmann and the Seaboard Sounds singers (and a little saxophone number from Monika as well, ably assisted by background musician Big Fritz on keyboards), and even a stand-up comedy routine from young Michael Tensich, son of the Royal Cliff’s Executive Chef Walter.

But there were some serious moments too, such as when Pol. Col Jirat Pichitpai was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship (the highest Rotary award) in recognition of his inestimable work with drug rehabilitation of minors in this city, and the official welcoming of two new Rotarians, Cavalier Peter Rottmann and “Rin” from the offices of New District Governor Premprecha Dibbayawan.

Newly installed President Erika gave a speech in appreciation of the honour that has been bestowed upon her, adding her own personal watch cry of ‘Don’t talk - help’ to the Rotary International’s theme for the Rotary year 2000-2001 of ‘Create Awareness - Take Action’.

If the installation night is anything to go by, this will certainly be a very active year for the Jomtien-Pattaya Rotary Club. The “little lady” has a lot in store!

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Leo Company Sponsors ATCC Seaboard Sundowners

Story and photos by Peter Cummins

It was, indeed, a splendid evening last Friday at the Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce (ATCC) Seaboard Sundowners, held at the Royal Garden Resort, Pattaya. Fortunately for almost all concerned, the Leo-named sponsor was the Leo Logistics and Moving Comapany and NOT Leo beer. Generously sponsored, in fact, by the Leo Company, last week’s event certainly fulfilled the purpose of presenting an “opportunity for members and guests of the Chamber, to meet, network and exchange views” in the conducive, informal ambience of the Royal Garden Resort. The Seaboard Sundowners has been an ongoing tradition since the inaugural function started by Hardy Papson at his Pattaya residence in May, 1998. 

Enjoying the Sundowner

When Hardy moved away - in fact, to Hobart, Tasmania (some people have ALL THE LUCK) - the Sundowners has continued to thrive as was most evident by the big attendance at last week’s. The presence of a bevy of beauties - thank you John Pollard for the many ‘Meinhardt Mademoiselles’ and the sponsor for a lot of ‘Leo Lovelies’ - was a sure guarantee of increasing attendance at future Sundowners. Even Captain Leo, the sponsor mascot, although slightly cross-eyed, was also able to appreciate the attention from some of the ladies present. Of course, the “Pattaya Mail” team, led by ATCC member Peter Malhotra, was there in full force, to cover the action and imbibe a little in the liberal supplies of Fosters and other libations. Dr Iain Corness captured the very lively party spirit for the Pattaya Mail Channel, before rushing off to cover about six other events. And that was one of his quiet nights! Dr. Iain pointed out that local ATCC committeeman Mark Lawrence was very happy with “the cohesive spirit displayed by the Eastern Seaboard members.”

Would YOU buy a used car from any of these? (L. to r. Des Holmes, Niel Poulsen and Peter Malhotra)

In his interview with the good doctor, Mark also noted that most of the ATCC members “were pleased with the economic direction being taken by Thailand and the general air was more than just optimism.” Mark also observed that the trend was towards expansion “and, thus, the training of personnel was now becoming an important factor for the Australian-based industries,” he concluded. A highlight of the evening was the “raffle”, for a week’s camp at Dulwich College for a school pupil, donated by Mark Lawrence. Eligible for the draw were any parents having a child 13-15 years-of-age. It was won by Niel Poulsen who immediately made the offer available for a disadvantaged child who will enjoy a week’s camp at Phuket. Kathy Lindsay, executive secretary of the Chamber, in her usual inimitable style, organized a very full and satisfying visit to Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard for Bangkok ATCC members.

John Pollard and friends - supporting the Sundowners

Many took advantage of the very reasonable accommodation rates which Kathy had negotiated with Royal Garden Resort and stayed overnight. On Saturday, the group visited the Ban Khao Huai Mahad School, one of the Chamber’s ongoing projects and held informal English-teaching classes. Of course, what would a visit to the Seaboard be without the inevitable round of golf. After ‘teaing-up’ and a luncheon, the members were ‘teeing-off’ at the Khao Kheow Country Club, for a friendly game. By all accounts, it was a splendid, fruitful and highly-enjoyable weekend, with the promise of many to follow. Well done Kathy and ATCC and, again, a big vote of thanks to Captain Leo and the Leo Logistics and Moving Company staff for the sponsorship and support of the ATCC Seaboard Sundowner.

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Emirates celebrate 10th Anniversary in Style

Emirates, the International Airline of the UAE held a party at the Siam Bayshore this month to celebrate their tenth year in Thailand. On the guest list were the predominantly female staff from all the major Travel Agencies in and around Pattaya and two male journalists from the Pattaya Mail.

General Manager Soonthorn Suree was the MC for the 10th year anniversary.

The party atmosphere was promoted by the manager for Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, Soonthorn Suree, ably helped by his silver jacketed staff throwing CD’s into the frenzied horde of Travel Agents, who with girlish squeals delight, scrabbled for the prizes.

Party games were held and mini-competitions, in between Soonthorn advising the ladies of the new Skywards advances made by Emirates, including the ordering of the new Airbus AXXX with its 550 seats which will come on stream later. Everyone clapped a lot.

The silver suited staff

Then the serious business of dancing was on the agenda and one fact became obvious. There was a serious shortage of male partners! This is where the Pattaya Mail staff, in the full spirit of self sacrifice, stepped into the breach, or rather the dance floor. Taking on 150 partners each, the two journalists kept themselves busy with rock ‘n roll and flying fandango’s. It was certainly a night to remember!

Emirates have booked the dance hall for the year 2010 when they celebrate their 20th anniversary in Thailand. The two journalists have made tentative bookings with the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital cardiologists to ensure their fitness levels will be adequate.

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No Lonber the Cultural Backwater?

Hot on the heels of the Pattaya International Ladies Club art show, former fashion model Phenporn Phitoon held a one-woman show at the Steak Lao restaurant.

Phenporn Phitoon as beautiful as her self portraits

A mixture of oils and water colours, many of the thirty framed art pieces reflect Phenporn’s former life as a super-model. Figure studies, which are undoubtedly either self-portraits or strongly influenced by her own persona, are placed in pictorial situations that produce evocative feelings of Ankor Wat and its majestic sandstone blocks. A most interesting juxtaposition.

The display finishes this weekend at the Steak Lao restaurant, corner of Soi 10 and Beach Road.

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Starting early for Xmas

Xmas came a little early on Soi 7 this year - but it was for a good reason and an even better cause. The “After That - It’s Different” bar showed that it was a little different by putting on a party with the proceeds going to the Jomtien-Pattaya Rotary Club for application to the Street Children’s Home.

Entertainment for the evening was provided by Delaney’s East Coast Band, Samsara’s Jaguar Band and the resident After That band, Flipper Jam. Other musicians also stepped up to play with the professionals during the course of the evening. Lucky door prizes and auctions, along with a roast chicken buffet completed the “Xmas” party, with everyone enjoying this novel event.

After That management said they are already planning next year’s repeat event.

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Copyright 2000  Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand 
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]

Updated by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.