HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Thongchai Lortrakanon installed as Governor of District 3340 Rotary International

PCEC members taught how to have beautiful Hollywood-like teeth

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Thongchai Lortrakanon installed as Governor of District 3340 Rotary International

Ceremonies and celebrations held at District Assembly in Rayong

PRID Noraseth Pathmanand congratulates outgoing governor Siri Eiamchamroonlarp (left) and incoming governor Thongchai Lortrakanon (right) as his first lady Wipapan stands proud and ready to support her husband.

Phasakorn Channgam

Rotary International is the world’s first service club organization, with more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs divided into more than 500 districts worldwide. Many would come to believe that the position of Rotary District Governor in one of the districts in the Rotary world is a glamorous job. Little do they realize that to become a district governor the person must go through a grueling test throughout his Rotary life. He has to learn more than everyone else, so that he can convey his knowledge of the Rotary procedures to Rotarians both young and old.

Past Rotary International Director Noraseth Pathmanand installs Thongchai Lortrakanon as Governor of District 3340 for 2010-11.

A District Governor must be a most loyal person to the Rotary ideals. He must be a good leader, father, son, brother and most important, an excellent teacher. The Governor has a responsibility to travel to all the Rotary clubs in his district to guide, instruct and assist in all Rotary matters. He must be ready to sacrifice a lot of his precious time and funds to be able to carry out his duties effectively during his tenure.

One such person is Rotarian Thongchai Lortrakanon, member of the Rotary Club of Chonburi.

Having served for 19 years, including one year as president of his club in 1993-94, Rotarians of district 3340 saw it most fitting to elect Past President Thongchai Lortrakanon to serve as District Governor for the 2010-2011 Rotary year.

Past District Governor Premprecha Dibbayawan actively raising money
 for the Rotary Sow the seeds of Love district benevolent fund.

The installation ceremonies were held to coincide with the annual District Assembly at the Ploenta Restaurant complex in Rayong on May 8, 2010.

The district assembly is one of the most important functions in a Rotary year, where seminars are held for the training of incoming presidents and the directors of all the avenues of service in all the clubs throughout the district, preparing them to take over their respective offices on July 1.

Past District Governor Pratheep Malhotra congratulates the new governor and his first lady Wipapan (right).

Rotary district 3340 covers the northeastern and eastern parts of Thailand wherein more than 1200 Rotarians in 58 clubs actively play their part in serving their communities.

Supeepat Chongpanit, deputy governor of Rayong presided over the ceremonies which saw Past Rotary International Director Noraseth Pathmanand perform the ceremonial removing the badge of office from outgoing district governor Siri Eiamchamroonlarp and installing Thongchai Lortrakanon as the new district governor for the upcoming Rotary year.

Past District governor Jin Srikasikorn (left) receives a gift from DG Thongchai.

In his acceptance speech DG Thongchai said, “I was first introduced to Rotary by Past District Governor Prasart Euprasert and have learned much more about this wonderful service organization when my eldest child was selected to join the youth exchange program. … Later on, I came to cherish Rotary and our ideals of service. Now as governor, it seems like it’s the start of a new life. I will utilize my time as governor in the service of our clubs and their members and assist them in their various projects.

“I’m not a master nor am I a supernatural being,” he continued. “I need cooperation from all Rotarians to effectively manage our Rotary clubs for the progress and achievement of our humanitarian projects to alleviate the hardships of our fellow man. One thing that I wish for all of us to remember is our pride in being Rotarians and that our principle motto is ‘Service above self’.”

Charming members of the Rotary Club of Mitraparp Khonkaen
are always the attraction at any function.

Members of the Rotary Club of Plutaluang came in force
to wish the new governor and his first lady a most successful year.

A large contingent of Thai, English, French and German speaking
Rotarians in Pattaya attended the historic function.

PCEC members taught how to have beautiful Hollywood-like teeth

Master of Ceremonies “Hawaii” Bob Sutterfield welcomed everyone to the Pattaya City Expat Club’s temporary meeting location at the Markland Hotel’s Haad Sai Room on Sunday, May 16. After the usual morning announcements including the availability of free blood pressure checks by staff from Phyathai Sriracha Hospital, he called on fellow member Gavin Waddell, international marketing executive with the hospital. Gavin told everyone about the 990 baht physical check up promotion currently being provided by the hospital till the end of May. He then introduced the speaker from the hospital, Dr. Ketkamon Sangwichit D.D.S., who would be talking primarily about veneer dentistry. Dr. Ketkamon is a cosmetic dentist from the hospital’s staff.

Gavin Waddell, International Marketing Executive of Phyathai Hospital Sriracha introduces Dr. Ketkamon Sangwichit, D.D.S.

Gavin noted that in dentistry, a veneer is a thin layer of restorative material placed over a tooth surface, either to improve the look of a tooth (cosmetic) or to protect a damaged tooth surface. He said veneers were invented by a California dentist named Charles Pincus. They were developed for changing the appearance of actors’ teeth. These first veneers often fell off in a very short time because they were only held on by denture adhesive. Today with improved cements and bonding agents, Gavin said they can last from 10 - 30 years. Veneers are an important tool for the cosmetic dentist to create a “Hollywood” type of makeover. Veneers can close spaces, lengthen teeth that are worn, provide a uniform color, shape, symmetry, and make teeth appear straight. Gavin then called on Dr. Ketkamon to explain the process in detail.

Dr. Ketkamon started by asking the question, what is a veneer? She then described dental veneers noting that veneers are thin, are natural looking, and can be made from two different materials. One is made with a composite resin and the other with porcelain. She said she would limit her discussion to porcelain veneers because they are better and last longer.

Dr Goong (Dr. Ketkamon Sangwichit, DDS) advises PCEC members on the latest in the use of veneers in cosmetic dentistry, and to cover visual tooth and bite defects.

She commented on some of the benefits noting that veneers resist stain and abrasion effects of solvents plus they have biologic compatibility. She then asked the question, who should use veneers? She listed several reasons for choosing to have veneers by those with teeth color defects, abnormalities of shape (malformed), abnormal texture, tooth fracture, or problems with tooth spacing. She displayed several before and after pictures showing the benefit of veneers.

She also explained the process for placing a veneer over one or more teeth and explained how to maintain a veneer once it has been placed over the teeth.

Open Forum MC, Judith Edmonds, invites questions from the members and guests about life and living in Thailand.

She concluded by discussing another cosmetic dental service offered by the hospital besides veneers. She quickly explained the process of bleaching to brighten a person’s teeth and how one can maintain their appearance after the bleaching. She then answered many questions from the audience.

“Hawaii” Bob then updated everyone on upcoming events and called on Judith Edmonds to conduct the always informative and sometimes humorous Open Forum where questions are asked and answered about living in Thailand and Pattaya in particular.