pattayamail.gif (2145 bytes)




















 

   FEATURES

HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Seven Rotary Presidents installed at joint ceremony

Alvi Sinthuvanik takes over Rotary Club of Jomtien - Pattaya

Buddhist and Christian Friendship - A New world Vision

Who was Saint George?

Visa runs - with confidence

Thai students say thank you to U.S. Sailors

Seven Rotary Presidents installed at joint ceremony

Rotary Club members from Sriracha, Ban Beung, Phanat Nikhom, Bangsaen, Laem Chabang, Pattaya and Chonburi celebrated the installations of new presidents and administrative officers of all seven clubs respectively on the evening of June 23rd at the Srivara conference room on the 2nd floor of the Pattaya Town in Town Hotel. Guests of honor included the Banglamung district chief Vichien Chawalit and Pattaya mayor Pairat Suttithamrongsawat.

Pres. Yupin Sutamano
R.C. of Chonburi

After the ceremonial opening, Rotary Club District 3340 Governor Premprecha Dibbayawan welcomed the guests and congratulated the new administrative officers, who were about to assume official duties beginning July 1.

Premprecha praised the new officers and commended the former officers, saying each has sincere dedication and provides help to society whether at the district or local level, achieving the desired goals with no regard for personal gratification. Recapping the establishment of the first Rotary Club in Chicago in 1905, and the eventual establishment of Rotary Clubs in Thailand, the district governor applauded the upstanding moral integrity of the members of the International Rotarians around the world.

The Rotary Club of Pattaya was chartered in 1972, and now has 21 members meeting every Monday evening at 7.00 at the Town in Town Hotel. New members are welcome; for more information call (038) 426350-1, 426352-4, or the local address is P.O. Box 100, Pattaya, Chonburi 20260.

Pres. Tawachai Somakasetrin
R.C. of Laem Chabang

Pres. Kamnod Sophonwasu
R.C. of Pattaya

Pres. Pornchit Sophonpaisan
R.C. of Phanat Nikhom

Pres. Manop Somneuk
R.C. of Bangsaen

Pres. Wilawal Aphichartwarapong
R.C. of Sriracha

Pres. Prayod Antathorn R.C. of Ban Bueng

Back to Features Headline Index

Alvi Sinthuvanik takes over Rotary Club of Jomtien - Pattaya

A star-studded evening for members of the community

Tony and Vikrom Malhotra carry the portrait of His Majesty the King into the Grand Ballroom.

Rotarians and guests were entertained with a spectacular light and sound show at the Grand Ballroom of the Royal Cliff Grand on the occasion of the installation of Alvi Sinthuvanik as the president of the Jomtien-Pattaya Rotary Club for Rotary year 2001-2002.

The high regard that the community has for Alvi was shown in the attendance of such notable dignitaries as H.E. Sonthaya Khunpleum, the Minister for Science, Technology and Environment; Vichien Chawalit, the Banglamung District Chief; Chanyut Hengtrakul, Advisor to the Minister for Science, Technology and Environment, Surat Mekavarakul, the president of the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association; Mrs Sopin Thappajug, the Associate Judge from the Chonburi Children’s Court, as well as Rotarians from all over the Rotary International District 3340.

H.E. Sonthaya Khunpleum, the Minister for Science, Technology and Environment delivers his keynote address.

Having a Thai lady installed as the president of the English speaking Jomtien-Pattaya Rotary produced a very strong “Thai” theme for the installation night, commencing with Achan Jumpot Muangkling’s wonderful musical renditions on the uniquely Thai Bamboolin (a violin styled instrument made from hollow bamboo).

As president Alvi’s family came from the south of Thailand, the next item was a southern dance in her honour, called the “Patey”, which was performed by Pattaya School Number 3 schoolgirls.

Alvi, you are the champion.

Again, as President Alvi is well known for her championing of the cause of youth development in this country, the next entertainment item was provided by the children from Pattaya School Number 7 performing the Kheta Muay Thai, a dance/exercise routine using the stylised movements from classical Muay Thai boxing. This was followed by a dance called the Somtam, performed to the musical composition written by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

President Alvi is all smiles as she introduces her board of directors.

To the strains of the Star Wars theme, outgoing president Erika Keller thanked her club and presented tokens of appreciation to them, and a special commendation from outgoing Rotary International president Frank Devlyn to honorary member Gerard Lemmers of the Ge Laurant Foundation. Another from the Ge Laurant Foundation, Ruud de Vos was also inducted into the Rotary Club as an honorary member. Finally, one of the supreme awards in Rotary is the granting of a Paul Harris Fellow (in honour of the founder of Rotary, Paul Harris) and this year that was given to past president Dennis Stark for his many years of service to the local community.

Achan Jumpot Muangkling’s wonderful musical renditions on the uniquely Thai Bamboolin

Then it was time for the outgoing district governor, Premprecha Dibbayawan to install Alvi as the new president, who in turn introduced her new board to help her run the club. As one of her first duties she bestowed honorary membership to Wannapa Wannasri, a very well known community worker, who was also co-emcee with past president Peter Malhotra.

It had been a star studded evening, an evening that reminded local Rotarians that they are indeed part of Thailand, and can rejoice in that fact.

The Pattaya Mail adds its best wishes to those of everyone on the installation night - congratulations, President Alvi Sinthuvanik.

H.E. Sonthaya Khunpluem with President Alvi Sinthuvanik and her board of directors. A bewildered Wannapa cuts her birthday cake cheered on by close friends.

DG Premprecha presents the “Most Outstanding Person of the Year” award to Khun Sumalee Mak-udsa. Her dedication and hard work as a teacher throughout the years has earned her the title of “Teacher of teachers” President Alvi’s first duty was to induct Khun Wannapa Wannasri as an Honorary member of the Rotary Club of Jomtien Pattaya.

Alvi flanked by Jirarat and her daughter Nong Ob (l-r) Sopin Tappajug Associate Judge of the Chonburi Juvenile Court, Vichien Chawalit, Banglamung District Chief and Chanyudh Hengtrakul, advisor to the Minister of Sceince, Technology and Environment.

Past President Dennis Stark receives his Paul Harris Fellow from D.G. Premprecha Dibbayawan DG Prem presents Gerard Lemmers of the Ge Laurant Foundation with his R.I. commendation.

Pretty faces all in a row.

Khru Oi with her talented dance troupe

Children of Pattaya School Number 7 
perform the Kheeta Muay Thai Dance.

Back to Features Headline Index

Buddhist and Christian Friendship - A New world Vision

Business persons, educators and others seeking deeper spiritual connection for effective daily living are invited to a one-day meditation seminar, “Buddhist and Christian Friendship: A New World Vision”, Thursday July 12 from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Father Laurence Freeman, a Roman Catholic priest whose UK-based World Community for Christian Meditation has organized Buddhist-Christian dialogues with HH the Dalai Lama three times in the past 10 years, will speak and demonstrate traditional Christian disciplines centered on prayer and meditation.

Spiritual disciplines are not meant for religious professionals only, according to Fr. Laurence, but for laypersons in any spiritual community.

The event will be at the Student Christian Center, 328 Phya Thai Road (between Asia Hotel and the Elephant Head Bridge). Suggested donation of 250 baht includes lunch. For details contact Emile Ketudat, tel. 271-3295, fax 271-2632 or Lance Woodruff at [email protected]

Back to Features Headline Index

Who was Saint George?

by Suchard Krephitmai

You can’t write about Dragons without mentioning Saint George, a well-known figure to those of us who are interested in legends.

The problem is the life of Saint George is told through so many sources, one of them being the Acta Sancti Georgii (Acts of Saint George) written at a very early date and outlawed by Pope Gelasius in AD 496. There was also the set of Acts written by the Greeks, which were slightly more accurate and quoted by Saint Andrew of Crete.

St George

These mention his prowess in battle and bravery - fighting dragons in ways that make it very difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. We do know that he was born in Cappadocia of noble, Christian parents and on the death of his father, accompanied his mother to Palestine, her country of origin, where she had land and George was to run the estate. He was martyred at Lydda in Palestine (Nicomedia). He was a tribune (which possibly equates to colonel) in the Roman army during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian (245-313).

From about 302 Dioclesian started persecuting the Christians. George put aside his office and complained personally to the Emperor of the harshness of his decrees and the dreadful purges of Christians. For this he was thrown into prison and tortured. He would not recant his faith, however, and he was dragged through the streets and beheaded. It is uncertain whether he also tore down the Emperor’s decrees as they were posted in Nicomedia. The Emperor’s wife, Alexandria was so impressed at the Saint’s courage that she became a Christian and was also put to death for her trouble.

One of legends concerning Saint George is the famous dragon story, with which he is invariably portrayed. According to legend, a dragon was terrorizing a pagan town in Libya. The locals kept throwing sheep to it to placate it, and when it still remained unsatisfied, they resorted to throwing it the odd citizen from the town. Finally the local princess was to be thrown to the beast as a last resort, but Good Saint George came along, slaughtered the dragon and rescued the fair princess. This made the whole village convert to Christianity (a bad mistake at that time). The origin of the legend came from the way in which the Greek Church honoured George. They venerated him as a soldier saint and told many stories of his bravery and protection in battle. The western Christians got together with the Byzantine Christians during the Crusades and elaborated and misinterpreted the Greek traditions and devised their own version. Which is how we got the story we know today of Saint George and the Dragon dating back to the troubadours of the 14th century.

The reason for his being adopted as the Saint of Battles was partly because he was a soldier, but also because he is said to have appeared to the Christian army before the Battle of Antioch. It is also said that he appeared to the English King Richard I (the Lionheart) during his Crusade against the Saracens, which served as a great encouragement to the troops.

The cult of Saint George goes back a long way - certainly to the 4th century. He became the English Patron Saint in 14th Century and he became associated with the Order of the Garter. He is the Patron Saint of Moscow in Russia and held in esteem by many other countries.

Back to Features Headline Index

Visa runs - with confidence

Pattaya certainly has a plethora of visa run services these days. With many of the expat community needing to renew visas every three months, the visa run services have sprung up to fill an obvious need; however, there are some differences between them all.

One of the most usual areas of comparison for the average border crosser is merely what time the service leaves Pattaya and what time do you get home. While this may seem to be important, it is not necessarily the most crucial factor. Of much more significance is the guarantee of coming back with the required visa - more than once border crossers have been stranded on the wrong side of the border!

When selecting your visa run service, it should be ascertained that the service knows all the angles, understands the paperwork and has the necessary “connections”. It is also important that your service understands your language, yet at the same time can exactly communicate your requirements to the Thai authorities, especially if there are any problematical areas like overstays, for example.

One of the newer groups carrying out this work is Pattaya Visa Service, operating from within the Pattaya Driving Range complex on Pattaya 3rd Road. Whilst the company may be new, the staff behind it are not new to the business and importantly - are well connected. The manager, Khun Rang, says that with their collective experience you can be assured that you will be given the correct legal advice to make the acquisition of the appropriate visa a hassle-free occurrence, even for some of the more difficult passport holders such as those from some of the former Eastern Bloc countries.

Pattaya Visa Services also makes your visa run fully escorted with personnel to meet and greet on the Cambodian side at Aranyaprathet or Phnom Penh. VIP minibus runs are every day, commencing at 7 a.m. at the Pattaya Driving Range, or you can have hotel or residential pick-up and delivery service. You can contact them on 370 462.

Give Rang a ring and you won’t go wrong!

Back to Features Headline Index

Thai students say thank you to U.S. Sailors

by JO1 Joseph Krypel

Seabees worked side by side with Thai Marines here to make the lives of students and villagers a little better.

Not only did Sailors from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion One, out of Gulfport, Miss., accomplish its mission, they went the extra mile, building extra structures and making enhancements at the Bah Koah Buy Sri School.

Taking a break to sing with the kids

“They are very honorable to build us this new building. I think it will be great for me to learn and play. Thank you,” said 6-year-old student Nookul Taddee.

An American five-man team arrived at the school at the end of May to meet with their Thai counterparts. Together, they mapped out what 25 U.S. Seabees and 15 Thai Marines would accomplish during the annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercise.

CARAT is the Navy’s premier bilateral exercise in the Western Pacific. It aims to enhance regional cooperation. In addition to operational exercises that refine navigation and seamanship skills, community outreach programs like the Seabees’ project round out the CARAT plan.

“Our primary function as an advanced party was to access the location and begin work on a new 25-by-75 multipurpose structure for the school,” said project leader BU1 (SCW) Blane F. Meadows.

“Not only did we complete the structure early, but we used leftover supplies and funds to move on to a couple of other projects the school needed done.”

With one project down, the combined construction team took on two more: a new three-toilet facility - complete with a water tank and pump - and a 12-by-50 covered parking area. The school will share the parking lot with residents of a local village.

“This accomplishment not only provides better education facilities for our students - but a great boost to our school and village alike,” said Getsara Pouknang, principal at Bah Soah Buy Sri.

The primary school has almost 300 students; some of them are in the special education program. Children from pre-kindergarten to the U.S. equivalent of the eighth grade attend there. Ages range from 3 - 12.

An official ceremony turning the completed projects over to the school’s administrators took place June 27, near the end of CARAT Thailand.

U.S. Sailors and Marines taking part in CARAT will work with their counterparts in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei as well.

Back to Features Headline Index

News | Business News  | Features | Columns | Letters | Sports | Auto Mania | Kid's Corner 
Who’s Who | Travel | Shopping | Our Community |  Classifieds
Community Happenings  | Books Music Movies | Sports Round-Up

Updated every Friday
Copyright 2001  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

Updated by Chinnaporn Sungwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.
E-Mail: [email protected]


The Rotary Club
of Jomtien-Pattaya


Skal International


Pattaya Fun City
By The Sea