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Pattaya Sports Club elects new committee at AGM
The Pattaya Sports Club held their annual general meeting
last Saturday morning at the Town in Town Hotel. A break away from the
traditional Wednesday night AGM, members turned out to debate their
grievances and cast their vote on the elective committee.
Pattaya
Sports Club’s Elective Committee for 2003-2004, led by President Carl
Engel (seated center).
Carl Engel read his annual report for members, citing
that over the last year, the Pattaya Sports Club handed out over 1 million
baht in charity to the community, an increase of 26% on last year’s
donations. The Pattaya Sports Club’s biggest money earner, the Charity
Classic Golf Tournament also enjoyed an increase this year, generating
397,684 baht for use by the association’s charitable projects. Membership
over the last year has also increased.
The meeting went through its usual hiccups with much
debate on small details but it was soon settled, allowing the business of
electing office bearers for the respective sporting divisions.
This year as always, changes were few with only a few
surprises: Herbie Ishinaga switched places with Gerry Carpenter, Opal Devine
stood down from the elective committee as PR chairperson, leaving it to be
claimed by Lorne Hare. Derek Brook was elected to sit in the fishing chair
while Fred Horning replaced Dick Caggiano as charter member. The committee
more or less remained the same with one exception; the computer section felt
that they did not require a representative on the elected committee.
Once all business was completed everyone moved outside to
enjoy a great buffet lunch laid out by the Town Inn Town.
PSC Elected Committee 2003-2004: President Carl Engel,
Vice President Herbie Ishinaga, Secretary George Bennison, Treasurer Alan
Pearce, Charter Member Fred Horning, Bowling Chairperson Jim Montgomery,
Fishing Chairperson Derek Brook, Darts Chairperson Len Banfield, Golf
Chairperson Gerry Carpenter, Charity Chairperson Bernie Tuppin, Public
Relations Lorne Hare, Registrar Bjarne Nielsen, Social Chairperson Ken Crow,
Special Projects Bill Thompson.
BCCT brings in reinforcements at Eastern Seaboard networking night
The British Chamber of Commerce Thailand held another
networking evening at Shenanigans on Friday June 20. The event was sponsored
by Manpower Thailand.
BCCT
directors partake in the networking night on the Eastern Seaboard after
their monthly board meeting.
Manpower
execs Simon Matthews, regional manager (left) and Neil Russell, operations
manager represented their company that sponsored the BCCT Networking evening
at Shenanigans Pattaya.
Manpower Thailand, which boasts a 50-year history and
offices in over 60 countries, brought reinforcements in the form of Simon
Matthews, regional manager and Neil Russell, operations manager.
The company features a robust website on which people can
search available positions and register their CV for a position. So what
makes Manpower different? According to Simon Matthews, “We can provide a
variety of services from part-time to full-time employees for companies. We
screen applicants for various positions and interviewing and we also provide
training. So, for a small to medium business or large corporation with an
active HR department we save them time so they can get on with other
important duties. In the event someone needs emergency part-time staff we
have a general response time of four hours.”
Currently Manpower has over 3,000 Thai staff on their
books for both part-time and full-time availabilities.
The boys from Manpower sponsored the BCCT evening and it
went over particularly well. Nine of the 14 BCCT directors who were in
Pattaya for the evening had escaped the wilds of Bangkok for a Chamber board
meeting and were ready for a round of golf the following day at Plutaluang.
The next networking night on the Easter Seaboard is
scheduled for Friday July 18. Further details on the location will be
announced closer to the date.
YWCA and PSC donate to Ban Long Pho School in Banglamung
Story and photo by
Elfi Seitz
The tireless members of YWCA (Young Women Christian
Association) are often on their way to do charity projects. They are not
collecting money only to keep their beloved project “Happy Family”
going, which helps disadvantaged children go to school and receive a free
lunch there, but the ladies also go to schools to investigate, help and to
deliver the much needed money.
On June 24th YWCA president Nittaya Patimasongkroh took a
few of her members including Premrudee Jittivuthikarn, Thongpoon Kithalaeng,
Ubonpan Rogksasut, Ladda Lardee, Khornchanok Rodrummit and myself, as well
as Bernie Tuppin from the Pattaya Sports Club, to deliver the sum of 15,000
baht (10,000 baht from YWCA and 5,000 baht from the Sports Club) to the Ban
Long Pho School in Banglamung. This time the money will be used for much
needed tables and benches for the 920 children who attend classes there.
Jiraporn Koson thanked the organizations in the name of
the school and mentioned how grateful they are, as the school has received
help from the YWCA several times previously. She mentioned that the school
is still short of approximately 40 tables and benches and expressed her hope
that the Pattaya Sports Club and YWCA can help again.
After the ladies inspected the school facilities they all went to enjoy a
nice noodle soup lunch to discuss future plans for more charity projects.
South African Skålleagues visit Pattaya
Skål International, the organization for all
tourism professionals to be in, has some very active clubs in South Africa,
with the largest in Cape Town (Number 109), founded in 1953. This club,
which won the ‘Club of the Year’ award at the Skal World Congress in
Australia, is headed by dynamic businesswoman Carol Bayne, the manager of
Sure Oceanair Corporate Travel in Cape Town.
Carol
Bayne from Skål International Cape Town exchanges banners with the
Pattaya Mail’s Dr. Iain doing the honours for Skål International
Pattaya and East Thailand.
While reviewing the facilities here, following Pattaya winning the right
to host the 2006 world congress, Carol met up with local members of the Skål
International and took the opportunity to exchange banners with the Pattaya
Mail’s Dr. Iain doing the honours for Skål International Pattaya
and East Thailand (Number 439, showing just how the organization has grown).
Eating is a serious business!
Miss Terry Diner
The local branch of the world gastronomic group, the
Chaine des Rotisseurs takes its responsibilities to its members very
seriously. When the Chaine puts on a dinner, it is not a group of drinkers
converging on the local pub, and a plate of ploughman’s sandwiches all
round, thank you Miss, plenty of pickles.
Chef
Pascal Schnyder (Casa Pascal) very carefully selected the wines, looking at
the characteristics that would blend with the spices in Indian cooking.
Executive
Chef Walter Thenisch (Royal Cliff Beach Resort) held The Raj’s chef in
animated discussion as to the best consistency of dough for Nan bread.
The
local the Chaine des Rotisseurs branch selection committee evaluated The Raj
Indian Restaurant, looking to the possibility of presenting this style of
cuisine to its members.
No, when the club chooses a dinner venue, it is the
result of some careful scrutiny of the venue, the food and the presentation.
This is done by their selection committee and I was delighted to sit in with
them when they did their own evaluation of The Raj Indian Restaurant,
looking to the possibility of presenting this style of cuisine to its
members.
Wines were very carefully selected by chef Pascal
Schnyder (Casa Pascal), looking at the characteristics that would blend with
the spices in Indian cooking, while Executive Chef Walter Thenisch (Royal
Cliff Beach Resort) held The Raj’s chef in animated discussion as to the
best consistency of dough for Nan bread.
Sampling of the food was done by everyone, including
gourmets such as Hugh Millar and the Pattaya Mail’s Peter Malhotra,
while the Bailli of the group, chef Louis Noll (the ebullient) had the
casting vote, while the treasurer Jan Olav Aamlid, had the ‘costing’
vote!
The Raj may be proposed for some time in the future, but the next Chaine
dinner will be at the Empress Restaurant in the Dusit Resort on Sunday June
29. Further details can be obtained from Louis Noll at the Mata Hari
Restaurant, or Ingo Rไuber, resident manager Dusit Resort.
How did the Indian tailors come to Pattaya?
Theme of the 2nd “Herrenabend” - gentlemen’s evening
“Somewhere deep in the valley of Punjab a century ago
was a college of arts and ancient crafts. Harry Singh Potter and his team of
magic-makers transcended time and landed in the end of the last century
amongst an endless team of turbaned and non turbaned tailors smack into the
middle of Walking Street - small Pattaya sois, big Bangkok sois, hotel
lobbies, arcades, Samui, Phuket; a vast sea of tailors as far as eyes could
span.”
Marlowe
Malhotra, the guest speaker of the 2nd “Herrenabend” - gentlemen’s
evening - during his speech at Woodland’s Resort.
Guests
at the 2nd “Herrenabend” - gentlemen’s evening - held at Woodland’s
Resort.
That’s how Marlowe Malhotra, the guest speaker of the
2nd “Herrenabend” - gentlemen’s evening - started his speech at
Woodland’s Resort. Then he told the complete story.
“The British, prior to that period had already taken a
lot of Indians to their various African and South East Asian colonies to
work in their mines, plantations and as petty civil servants.
“A country name that shone through to the farmers-cum
traders of the Punjab sensing an unease of the political situation slowly
unfolding was Siam.
“The country was not colonized, the government quite
tolerant and accommodating to foreigners settled here since the Ayuthaya
period some 300-400 years ago. The Indians coming from the land that gave
the Siamese the now universally revered religious doctrine, Buddhism, were
treated with due respect as forbears of their beliefs.
“As there was no inclination on the Indians’ part
towards political involvement of their host country, the new immigrants were
left pretty much alone to pursue their economic interests and benign
religious practice.
“Thus trickled the Punjabis down from promising
messages which the first pioneers had passed back to them.
“It was overland across Burma, or down to the southeast
coasts of India, across the seas of Bengal to Malaya or southern Thailand
and then up to the central plains. The onslaught of the 2nd World War spread
some of the Indians out to the northeast and other parts of the country.
Textiles were their main stock in trade.
“During the early 60s the Americans started getting
heavily involved in the Vietnam War. By 1965 they had airbases spread out in
the northeast and here at Utapao to operate air strikes against Vietnam.
There was now at any given time a rotation of at least 60-70,000 Americans;
those permanently stationed in Thailand and many arriving from Vietnam for
their short 5-day rest and recreation.
“The traditional textile traders in the northeast saw
an opportunity similar to Hong Kong’s path to tailoring fame arising from
the mass arrivals of American soldiers on R&R from the Korean War a
decade earlier.
“This was the merchants’ new ‘cash crop’.
Incidentally there was a Sikh gentleman who settled down in Phitsanulok
after the 2nd war and became aware of this western yearning for custom made
clothes from the US Army engineers building roads in the area.
“He set a tailor’s cutting table in a corner. Sewing
machines? No problem. He was North Thailand’s Pfaff sewing machines agent.
He was probably the 1st Indian operated tailor shop. That was back in 1953.
That man was my father.
“He was already equipped with a vast range of material,
familiarity with the English language and inbred sales instinct. The
traditional Chinese tailors making a moderate living were just as eager to
join in as tailor contractors along with their new Thai family members keen
to show off the Isan perseverance and adeptness.
“The Indian traders then were instantly ready to
provide a new consumer demand ‘hand-made custom tailoring’ at prices
cheaper than their off the peg clothes. Their yearning for custom made
clothes with delivery of finished product at (unimaginable at home) speed
compared to the planning, shopping, eventually choosing and sometimes
altering the chosen ‘ready to wear’ garment.
“This new phenomena of offering individual
craftsmanship at volumes, at speeds relative to the assembly line production
recreated a unique and attainable sartorial pleasure, that has grown over
the years, first to Bangkok after the soldiers left and then onto all
tourist destinations around the country.
“And now you know how the many tailors really came to
Pattaya. Welcome to the land of ‘temples, tigers, and tailors’.”
Kurt Krieger, the initiator of the Herrenabend thanked his guest speaker
and told the members the theme of next month’s meeting, “How do we see
the future of Pattaya?”
A dear friend remembered
Gerald Norman Bryant II was born on the 4th of July 1953
to Harold and Marcella Bryant, one month and one day after his uncle Gerald
Norman Bryant was killed in the service of the US Army during the Korean
War.
Jerry
‘Hot-dog’ Bryant
As he grew up, each year the United States celebrated its
birthday on the 4th of July with fireworks and festivities. Jerry was in awe
as he felt the world was celebrating his own birthday. When he grew older he
realised the difference between the two, but in his entire life, he would
say he never met a person whom he didn’t like, because every one had
helped him celebrate his birthday.
On November 23rd 1973 he arrived in Thailand to live with
his dad who was employed by the United States Army at camp Samae Sam. Loving
the country, the people and his many friends, he decided that Thailand was
to be his home - so when his dad went home in 1976 he decided to stay.
He worked for the U.S. Government for a short time, but,
as the American presence in Thailand was being fazed out, Jerry too lost his
job. Not wanting to go back to the States, he and his wife Dang opened
“Dangs Hot Dog” on a shoe-string budget right under the big tree in
South Pattaya. Wanting to make it on his own, he worked as a diver for Bill
Book and later on for Dave Doll. He later established the “Saloon Bar”
making one of the tastiest Pizzas in town.
Then tragedy struck. For on one fateful night, as he was
driving home with his wife, through some terrible accident, he was shot
three times in the stomach. That would have been the end of most people, for
he was clinically dead at least twice in the hospital. But his will to live
kept him going. With the kind and loving care of his family and friends he
was able to pull through.
He was a member of the Pattaya Sports Club and took part
in all its sports activities, be it bowling, darts, softball or just plain
hanging around and living it up. Jerry was a pioneer in Pattaya. He was
tough and never once let anyone take away anything that was rightly his. But
he was also a man with a big heart. How many of us knew him as generous to
the point of foolishness. He just grinned and said that, ‘If I am so
stupid to give it away, then may he who took it enjoy it.’ Jerry was the
father of two children, Jerry “Noi” and little Michel.
In March 1992 Jerry was taken seriously ill only a few
days after his return to Thailand from a journey to India to enrol little
Jerry in a school there. He succumbed and passed away.
As we remember his birthday anniversary this 4th of July, we would just
like to say ‘Dear Jerry, old friend, you will always be with us. Your
spirit lives in the Big Tree and you will always be in the annuls of Pattaya,
for it took men like you to create Pattaya and show what it takes to endure
and become what it is today.’
Lions Clubs in Pattaya & Chonburi celebrate
the changing of the guard for 2003-2004
The annual installations of presidents and board members
for Lions Club in Thailand and around the world turned out to be a major
event here in Pattaya. For the first time 6 of the region’s clubs
conducted a joint ceremony at the Asia Hotel.
Tawit
Chaisawangwong, chairman of Pattaya City Council presided over the opening
ceremonies.
New
members inducted into the Lions movement.
Lions
take the solemn oath in keeping with the motto of “We Serve”.
The festivities included Pattaya’s four Lions Clubs:
Lions Club of Pattaya, Lions Club of Pratamnak Pattaya, Lions Club of Naklua
Pattaya and Lions Club of Jomtien Pattaya, as well as the Lions Club of
Sattahip and the Lions Club of Sriracha, making for six clubs in total.
Members of the business community were on hand to join in
the evening’s formalities, as were government dignitaries and visiting
Lions Club members from district 310C and as far away as Maiyang in South
Korea.
The evening got underway with entertainment from a local
band before the formalities commenced. The official changing of the guard
began with the presentation of outgoing committee members and presidents -
13 in total - before introducing the new executive board members.
General Teking Mungthanya, district governor of Lions
International 310C (2003-2004) proceeded with the installation of the new
board members of the six clubs.
General
Teking Mungthanya, district governor of Lions International 310C
(2003-2004).
Presidents
and members of the year 2002-03 (left) and the year 2003-04 (right) of the 6
Lions Clubs line up for the ceremonies.
Aphirak Ton replaced Wiwat Pattanasin as president of
Lions Club of Pattaya; Surjit Singh Gulati replaced Naowarat Khakai as
president of the Lions Club of Pratamnak Pattaya; Chaiyawat
Damrongmongkollakun replaced Pramote Pattanasin at the Lions Club of Naklua
Pattaya; the city’s English speaking club also received their second
president, Peter Smith taking the top spot from Paul Davies in the Lions
Club of Jomtien Pattaya.
Rear Admiral Samuk Noopairoj was installed as president
of the Lions club of Sattahip and Surachart Chaitrakultong was installed as
president of the Lions Club of Sriracha.
The district governor pinned each of the new presidents
and welcomed them to their new positions, along with each board of directors
of the 6 clubs.
Lions International has over 1.4 million members around
the globe in 190 countries. Their motto ‘We Serve’ stands proudly as a
commitment to assisting the community and helping those in need. In Thailand
this extends to 10 main projects, such as helping the blind and vision
impaired, aiding the deaf and hearing impaired, promoting education,
promoting community relations and social stability, preserving the
environment, promoting health and hygiene, drug prevention, understanding
international communities and promoting better relations across the globe
and other free-style projects.
Pattaya Sikhs commemorate the death of Guru Arjan Dev Jee by distributing sweets and soft drinks to school children
Songklod Kaewvisit
Led by Amrik Singh, Pattaya’s Sikh community went on a
giving spree distributing sweets, soft drinks and a lots of love to children
in the various schools around Pattaya, including the Redemptorist School for
the Blind.
Lovely
Kaur, Surdashan Kaur, Rattan Kaur and Arvinder Kaur serving drinks to the
children of the community.
Sikhs all over the world perform these annual rites of
giving donations and community service in celebrations commemorating the
anniversary of the passing Guru Arjan Dev Jee, the Sikh’s fifth spiritual
leader.
The month of June was chosen because it is one of the hottest months of
the year and it is considered a merit to help the underprivileged and needy
schoolchildren by providing necessities, even some fun things such as sweets
and soft drinks.
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