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HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

U.K. Club of Pattaya & Q Cars team up to help Camillian Centre

Dulwich considers opening on Samui Island

House of Music opens in North Pattaya

Seaview Resort opens to offer more options for discerning travelers

Break-dancing and graffiti feature at One-2-call Freedom Generation Fun Avenue

Thailand to host the regional Asian Bartender Contest in 2004

Pattaya’s Murray Hertz receives Joe Delaney Award for Journalistic Achievement

Public Notice: Victory Family Church - Mercy Ministries

U.K. Club of Pattaya & Q Cars team up to help Camillian Centre

All packed up and ready to go, until the next time.

Jon and Sam Fox of Q Cars Jomtien Beach Condominium contacted the U.K. Club of Pattaya to see if the club’s chosen charity for 2003, the Camillian Centre would like to have some dried noodles.

The centre accepted readily and the wheels were put into motion.

On Friday October 24 Father Nadini came with a member of staff from the Camillian Centre and was very surprised to learn that Jon and Sam Fox were actually donating 1,200 kilo’s of dried noodles!

A big thank you to Jon and Sam Fox at Q Cars from the U.K. Club of Pattaya and the Camillian Centre Rayong.


Dulwich considers opening on Samui Island

Dulwich International College may soon open its doors on the island of Koh Samui, with the possibility of a new school there being carefully considered.

The news that DIC may open a second campus on Samui Island has excited property developers, hoteliers and other businesses on this picturesque island. It follows a recent decision by the college’s governing body to proceed with a feasibility study, conducted by a team of experts, to evaluate the potential of such a project.

The Phuket campus has already proven a great success. Enrollment is currently approaching eight hundred students and the continued demand for places from within Thailand and overseas has led the school’s management team to believe that another campus would broaden the appeal of DIC by establishing another school with similarly high educational standards in a different part of the country.

The new venture would cater for primary students with classes from Kindergarten through to Year 6, or 3 to 11 year-olds. Thereafter it is expected that students would join the Secondary School in Phuket as boarders, in order to take advantage of the excellent academic and extra curricular facilities available there.

“In my opinion our boarding facilities are second to none within the region. I would add that they rival, and in many cases exceed, those offered in the leading boarding schools of England,” commented Headmaster David Cook.

The new school is expected to cater for a maximum of 340 students. Boarding for years 4, 5 and 6 is likely to feature prominently, as primary boarding has proved very successful at the Phuket campus, where it is close to full occupancy.

Overseas students and boarders from other parts of Thailand have been joined by a number of Phuket-based students.

“Many Phuket parents are now taking advantage of the facilities with their children becoming weekly boarders. These students board from Sunday night to Friday, going home for the weekend. They board in the comfort and security of our specialized primary facility, Yon House,” Cook said.

An Outdoor Education Center has also been proposed for the new site on Samui Island. This center would include teaching facilities for outdoor, geographical, scientific and environmental education, as well as facilities for training students in pursuits such as kayaking, climbing, sailing, orienteering, and team building exercises.

“Few schools within the region have such a facility. The center would not only be utilized by the Samui school, but our students from the Phuket campus would also have access to the center for residential educational and activity visits,” said Cook.

“The feasibility study will hopefully provide the evidence to support such a venture, but the initial response from all parties has already been overwhelming,” stated the headmaster.

If the study does confirm the feasibility of the school, the project is expected to go into full swing within months, with a provisional opening date of August 2005.


House of Music opens in North Pattaya

Suchada Tupchai

Pattaya’s fledgling musicians in Pattaya now have a new place to study. The Music House, officially opened on North Pattaya Road last weekend, welcomed distinguished guests from the government and private sector who attended the opening ceremonies.

Mayor Pairat Sutithamrongsawat (left) and Maneenuch Samerasu (right) celebrate the opening of The Music House in North Pattaya.

Maneenuch Samerasu, a well-known singer and teacher at the Music House told the group, “This is a great day for me and for music in Pattaya. I was born here and throughout my life I have been involved in the music scene. It has now come to pass that I am able to open a new school to teach the young to enable them to see, hear and feel the beauty of music.”

During the evening’s celebrations students enrolled in the school, and performed on instruments taught at the school such as the piano, folk guitar, violin, drums and singing, all of which are part of the institute’s curriculum.


Seaview Resort opens to offer more options for discerning travelers

Boonlua Chatree

Located in Naklua Soi 18, the new Seaview Resort officially opened for business last Saturday morning at 9 a.m. The opening ceremonies were presided over by Dr. Apichart Veerachai, permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defense, which was then followed by a traditional religious ceremony with 9 monks.

PL-R Pol. Col. Kamolchai Tiengrungroj, Gen. Gonejontae Junapard, Dr. Apichart Veerachai, permanent secretary to ministry of defense, Lt. Gen. Thorrong Insahuk.

Prapan Lin, general manager and Supattra Boontam, deputy managing director, revealed that the hotel is ready to receive VIP guests from around the globe but would initially focus on the Asian market and more specifically Chinese tours.

“It is an opportunity for the hotel to bolster the tourist market in Pattaya at reasonable prices,” Supattra said.

The hotel is also focusing on meetings, and a number of meeting and function room facilities are ready for bookings.


Break-dancing and graffiti feature at One-2-call Freedom Generation Fun Avenue

Suchada Tupchai

‘Street Art’ - also called graffiti - and break dancing were featured at the Royal Garden Plaza last weekend as the mobile phone service One-2-Call held the Freedom Generation Fun Avenue for local teens to inspire creativity and steer them away from the menace of drug addiction.

Breakdancers battled to be the best on the floor in front of a team of judges.

Artists armed with spray cans and canvasses set about expressing themselves in the graffiti contest while breakdancers battled to be the best on the floor in front of a team of judges.

Artists armed with spray cans and canvasses set about expressing themselves in the graffiti contest.

The first round of the contest produced some wonderful results as both artists and dancers let their creativity run wild to see who would move on to the impending final to be held at the end of November.


Thailand to host the regional Asian Bartender Contest in 2004

Pattaya voted best to shake, rattle and pour

At the recent Thai Hotels Association Eastern Chapter (THA-EC) monthly meeting at the Woodlands Resort, Chatchawal Supachayanont, president of the THA-EC and members deemed the eastern region bartender contest a great success. So much so, word has spread that Thailand and more specifically Pattaya provides the best competition venue, and Thailand has been selected to host next year’s regional contest in September, which will coincide with Thailand’s regional and national competition to see who will go on to represent the host country at the international level.

Apart from this good news, the members also discussed the upcoming Loy Krathong festivities scheduled to be held along Beach Road from November 7-9. Pattaya City has given the go ahead for hotels to put up booths along the beachfront to sell food throughout the festival. THA members received the idea well and promised to provide the necessary cooperation.


Pattaya’s Murray Hertz receives Joe Delaney Award for Journalistic Achievement

Las Vegas, Nevada - Murray Hertz, who is now semi-retired and has been living in Pattaya for the past five years, was awarded a special lifetime achievement award by the Casino Legends Hall of Fame. He received the Joe Delaney Award for Journalistic Excellence in a ceremony at the Tropicana on October 19, 2003.

Hertz is the first person to receive the award since it was established posthumously in 2002 to honor Joe Delaney, who had been a Las Vegas Sun columnist for 35 years. The award is intended to recognize distinguished journalists of the Las Vegas community. Hertz’s career accomplishments and continued support of tourism in Las Vegas make him the ideal recipient of this year’s award.

Murray Hertz and all the inductees, from left [between the showgirls]: Murray Hertz, Breck Wall, Frankie Valli, Hector Mon, Connie Stevens, Clint Holmes, Jack Carter, Steve Cutler, Bill Acosta and Cook E. Jarr.

“This award honors a man who’s made entertainment headlines behind the headlines,” said Clint Holmes, one of the city’s most popular headliners who hosted the ceremony.

A Las Vegas resident since the early 1950s, Hertz literally began his career at his kitchen table. Determined to be a publisher, he launched several small publications including Moulin Rouge Visitor and Sportslife in Southern Nevada. In 1954, he launched what was to be the forerunner of a long-running and very successful publication still in existence today. Hertz created TV Log, Las Vegas, a pamphlet filled with television listings, that has evolved into a full-fledged, nearly 200-page magazine. Now known as What’s On, The Las Vegas Guide, it’s the largest circulated tourist publication in the state of Nevada with comprehensive editorial coverage of Las Vegas and an ABC-audited distribution of 205,000 copies per issue.

As part of his distinguished career, Hertz has also worked as a columnist at all of the local newspapers from the late ’50s to early ’70s. Many of his stories have had a huge impact on the community. For example, a series he wrote for the Las Vegas Sun in the early ’60s reminding both the populace and the food industry of the dangers of communicable diseases evolved into today’s existing food handlers law. Hertz even received the coveted George Hedman Memorial Award for International Travel Journalism in 1964 for a travel series he wrote on the Orient that was published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

With over 50 years of professional writing experience, Hertz has accumulated a significant body of work that has made a lasting impression. As a freelance writer, he’s done numerous articles about Las Vegas and about casinos, gaming, dining, travel and skiing for major newspapers and magazines throughout the world-including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and London Free Press. Hertz has also been involved in journalism and tourism through his service as a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), the SKลL Club, the By-line Club and the U.S. Ski Writers Association.

“I’m so honored to receive this award,” said Hertz. “It means a lot to me that the Casino Legends Hall of Fame and its members believe I’ve made an impact on the history of Las Vegas.”

More than 680 specially invited guests packed the Tropicana’s showroom. Along with his award presentation, the Casino Legends Hall of Fame also inducted six new honorees - Bill Acosta, Cook E. Jarr, Jack Carter, Breck Wall, Connie Stevens and Frankie Valli. To date 77 Las Vegas legends in the categories of Headliners, Showgirls, Gamblers, Builders & Visionaries, and “Good Guys” have been inducted for their lifetime achievements in their chosen fields, while Delaney and Hertz have both been honored for their contributions through the media.

Founded in 1999 by Steve Cutler, the Casino Legends Hall of Fame was created to immortalize those who helped make Las Vegas what it is today. It’s steadily grown into an important institution that recognizes, honors and safeguards the history of this unique city.


Public Notice: Victory Family Church - Mercy Ministries

In response to the printed notice in Pattaya Mail, Oct. 17, 03, advising the public of separation of Mercy Ministries Foundation from Victory Family Church, we feel a responsibility to the public to provide some clarification.

VFC would like to advise the Pattaya public:

All the projects that have been carried on with the name Mercy Ministries (past & present), originated within VFC.

Mercy Ministries is the name VFC has always used to identify its work among the severely less-privileged, long before the foundation was established.

All Mercy Ministries expenses have either been covered by VFC members directly or with the generous support of Pattaya Sports Club, Pattaya International Ladies Club, and others who’ve given towards specific project areas.

VFC started Mercy Ministries Foundation, covering all relevant costs, including the large fixed bank deposit needed for the foundation to be approved.

To our knowledge Mercy Ministries Foundation has no current projects in Pattaya or area.

Although we regret any confusion created over our continuing use of the name of Mercy Ministries, we still feel it best identifies the spirit and labor of love towards those we serve. All projects listed below will now be conducted under the umbrella name of VFC Mercy Ministries. All stationary, business cards & communication will reflect this change.

1. VFC Mercy Scholarship Project: Provides books, uniforms & school activity fees for 34 very needy students.

2. VFC Mercy Slums Project: Visits slum areas to provide milk for children, basic food items, clothes & emergency medical care (as needed) for those living in destitute circumstances in our city.

3. VFC Mercy Prison Project: Visits police lock-up centers daily to help provide for the children and the destitute.

4. VFC Mercy Children’s Centre: Emergency shelter for street and slum children.

Victory Family Church keeps audited financial records for itself, plus all the work of VFC Mercy Ministries. These records are available to all who have contributed financially in the past, or may wish to contribute in the future. We sincerely regret the confusion that has been created, and will happily answer any questions that would help ‘clear the air’ and permit the work of Mercy to continue unhindered in our city.

Fred & Dianne Doell: VFC Mercy Ministries (Founders & Directors)

Office phone: (038) 300-612, Mobile: 01-688-5867

Email: [email protected]