e-Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Patong Beach Phuket Thailand Issue. 486
- Volume 10 – No. 46 – 7th June 2016
Meetings Tuesday 7.00pm for 7.30pm @ Days Inn (formerly Aloha Villa) 145/2 Rat–U–Thit Road PATONG BEACH except 1st Tuesday of each month. Visitors Welcome - Dress code smart casual
http//www.rotarypatong.org
Next meeting – Tuesday 7th Dinner Out @ Skye Beach Club If you have been thinking of booking for the Dinner Out You have left it too late!
The Dinner Out is FULLY booked by 40 people Thank you to Dr. Johan Storck & Able Wanamakok the night will be FABULOUS! I wish I was there - Ed
Please do attend the Club Assembly on June 14 For all RCoPB members in Phuket on June 14, your attendance @ the Club Assembly will be greatly appreciated PE Richard needs your support for the important decisions to be made for his year. Please do make an extra special effort – your vote is required. It is essential to have at least 12 members attending, to enable PE Richard to commence his year on a firm base. As several members are currently travelling & off the island, the available number of members remaining is significantly reduced. The Rotary Club of Patong Beach Phuket Thailand Chartered 5th September 2001
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K.R. "Ravi" Ravindran President Rotary International
Theeranan Wonglaw District Governor 3330
Walter Wyler President Patong Beach
The International Rotary Club of Patong Beach – Phuket Thailand
Australia
Netherlands
Austria
New Zealand
Belgium
Canada
Switzerland
Germany
Thailand
Greece
United Kingdom
Hong Kong
Italy
United States
Coming Events Weekly Meeting @ 19.00 hours Tuesday 7th June
Tuesday 14th June
Dinner Out @ Skye Beach Club
CLUB ASSEMBLY
by Dr. Johan Storck & Able Wanamakok
Tuesday 28th June Dr. Sopida Rattanapruks Bangkok
Tuesday 21st June
Hospital – cardiovascular health All events can be checked at http://www.rotarypatong.org/events-calendar/
Advanced Notice Tuesday 12th July RCoPB Installation Night, will be held at the Kamala Beach, Lawn Bowling Club Book now with PE Richard
@ trickybkk@hotmail.com
Birthdays No one this week
The Rotary Club of Patong Beach Phuket Thailand Chartered 5th September 2001
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A new message from PE Richard Jones Do not delay like the guy in the cartoon Please do register for the Installation night on July 12th, 2016 As Richard is travelling, it would be greatly appreciated to register early Email PE Richard @ : trickybkk@hotmail.com Installation night is to be held at the Kamala Beach, Lawn Bowling Club. We plan to start for the early birds at 5pm with an Introduction to Lawn Bowling for those who wish to bowl. At this time the bar will be open for business. Also, all are Welcome to bring Wine & there will be no Corkage Charge. Beer 70bt Shots with Mixer 120bt Complimentary Buffet & BBQ will start at 19:30, followed by Live Music from the Colin 'Illy' Hill Band at 21:00. BYO Wine no corkage. Should be a fun night for all & I look forward to welcoming you. YIR Richard Jones P.E. Rotary Club of Patong Beach. ************************************************************************************************
The Rotary Club of Patong Beach Phuket Thailand Chartered 5th September 2001
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Ban Ya Literacy & Learning Centre - Phuket Thailand A brand new building with a toilet complex is nearing completion getting ready for 150 Myanmar children who live in the local construction camps.
A Community Service programme of the British International School will paint the surrounding brick walls. Commencing three years ago at the Bang Jo camp, initiated by the Good Shepherd Order and the Mon Foundation, a safe, secure and hygienic space was created in the camp to allow 30 children to attend a centre which would not only protect them but begin a process of Thai, English and Myanmar language instruction with the aim of giving them access to Thai and Myanmar schools. The centre rapidly grew and soon moved to a nearby motel and the number of teachers was increased and the enrolment is now 120. All this was possible by the support of volunteers, local fundraising and the generous donations of Rotarians and Rotary Clubs from around the world. This past year has seen donations of 840,000 Baht (of a budget of 1 million) and support for water systems and library materials. The centre is poised for the next stage of its development as a reputable learning centre and the new centre aims to lift to a higher level whilst providing a nursery for very young children when parents work. Hokkaido clubs have donated for fitting out the library, Tokushima South and Connecticut have provided monies for water, and several donations have been received for general development. The challenge is to create a long-term education and financially sustainable centre now the initial support of the Rotary Club of Patong Beach is complete. A local advisory group has been established which will focus on long-term marketing and governance, teachers being assessed and curriculum workshops being developed using specially designed materials (Moo Foundation) available online. To ensure financial security, several local fundraising activities have been created, and Rotary will be promoting the school as part of its Scholarship Fund. Nine German clubs have applied for a Global Grant, which would be directly used to establish the centre as a long-term viable, attractive and high-quality learning and literacy centre. Dr. Peter Harris – Service Projects Chairman The Rotary Club of Patong Beach Phuket Thailand Chartered 5th September 2001
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A little humour – Colin decided to retire He booked himself on a Caribbean cruise and proceeded to have the time of his life, that is, until the ship sank. He soon found himself on an island with no other people, no supplies, nothing, only bananas and coconuts. After about four months, he is lying on the beach one day when the most gorgeous woman he has ever seen rows up to the shore. In disbelief, he asks, "Where did you come from? How did you get here?" She replies, "I rowed over from the other side of the island where I landed when my cruise ship sank." "Amazing," he notes. "You were really lucky to have a row boat wash up with you." "Oh, this thing?" explains the woman. " I made the boat out of some raw material I found on the island. The oars were whittled from gum tree branches. I wove the bottom from palm tree branches, and the sides and stern came from an Eucalyptus tree." "But, where did you get the tools?" "Oh, that was no problem," replied the woman. " On the south side of the island, a very unusual stratum of alluvial rock is exposed. I found that if I fired it to a certain temperature in my kiln, it melted into ductile iron and I used that to make tools and used the tools to make the hardware." The guy is stunned. "Let's row over to my place," she says, "and I'll give you a tour." So, after a short time of rowing, she soon docks the boat at a small wharf. As the man looks to shore, he nearly falls off the boat. Before him is a long stone walk leading to a cabin and tree house. While the woman ties up the rowboat with an expertly woven hemp rope, the man can only stare ahead, dumb struck. As they walk into the house, she says casually, "It's not much, but, I call it home. Please sit down." "Would you like a drink?" "No! No, thank you," the man blurts out, still dazed. "I can't take another drop of coconut juice." "Oh, it's not coconut juice," winks the woman. "I have a still. How would you like a Tropical Spritz?" Trying to hide his continued amazement, the man accepts, and they sit down on her couch to talk. After they exchange their individual survival stories, the woman announces " I'm going to slip into something more comfortable. Would you like to take a shower and shave? There's a razor in the bathroom cabinet upstairs." No longer questioning anything, the man goes upstairs into the bathroom. There, in the cabinet, is a razor made from a piece of tortoise bone. Two shells honed to a hollow ground edge are fastened on to its end inside a swivel mechanism. "This woman is amazing," he muses. "What's next?" When he returns, she greets him wearing nothing but some small flowers on tiny vines, each strategically positioned, she smelled faintly of gardenias. She then beckons for him to sit down next to her. "Tell me," she begins suggestively, slithering closer to him, "We've both been out here for many months. You must have been lonely. When was the last time you played around?" She stares into his eyes. He can't believe what he's hearing. "You mean..." he swallows excitedly as tears start to form in his eyes, "You've built a Golf Course?"
The Rotary Club of Patong Beach Phuket Thailand Chartered 5th September 2001
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News from Rotary International – Korea Convention RAVINDRAN MOVES AUDIENCE WITH PERSONAL STORY RI President K.R. Ravindran shared a triumph over polio at the closing session of the 107th Rotary convention. On Wednesday, 1 June, with a poignant story about his mother's fight to survive polio at age 30.
PHOTO CREDIT: SJ CHOREA
When Ravindran was 11 years old in his native Sri Lanka, his mother awoke one day feeling weak and short of breath. Sitting down to rest, she found herself unable to move. The polio virus had quickly invaded her nervous system, resulting in paralysis. She was placed in an iron lung at the hospital to enable her to breathe, and was told that her chances of walking, or even surviving without a ventilator, were slim. But most Sri Lankan hospitals were not equipped with ventilators in 1963. Ravindran's grandfather, a Rotary member, hosted a club committee meeting in his living room the evening after his daughter was rushed to the hospital. Rather than simply offer consolation, his fellow members went to work, using their business acumen and professional connections to find a ventilator. One of the members was a bank manager who called a government minister to facilitate a quick international transfer of funds. Another member, a manager at SwissAir, arranged to have a ventilator flown in. The next day, it arrived at the hospital. "There was so much red tape at the time in Sri Lanka, but somehow, those Rotarians made it all fall away," Ravindran told the packed audience at the KINTEX Convention Center in Goyang city. Ravindran's mother spent a year-and-a-half in a hospital bed, but her condition gradually improved. She eventually left the hospital walking -- with a walker, but upright, on her own two feet. "Fifty-three years ago, my mother's life was perhaps one of the very first to be saved from polio by Rotarians," Ravindran said. "We have saved millions of lives since then. "Tonight, I stand before you as her son, and your president, to say that soon -- perhaps not in years but in months -- Rotary will give a gift that will endure forever: a world without polio."
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At the convention's general session, the day before, Rebecca Martin, director of the Center for Global Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had described how close we are to polio eradication. Earlier that day, Rotary released an additional $35 million in grants to support global efforts to end the crippling disease. This year's convention, one of the largest in Rotary history, attracted more than 43,000 attendees from over 150 countries. Ravindran, in his final speech to members as their president, emphasized what it really means to be a Rotarian. "There are people on this planet whose lives are better now because you traversed this earth," he said. "And it doesn't matter if they know that or not. It doesn't matter if they even know your name or not. What really matters is that your work touched lives; that it left people healthier, happier, better than they were before." LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT YEAR Following Ravindran's remarks, members of Ravindran's Rotary Club of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and RI President-elect John Germ's Rotary Club of Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, took the stage to exchange club banners, a tradition that unofficially marks the changing of the guard. Germ told the audience that Rotary is about to begin the most progressive year in its history. "You told us that we need to change and become more flexible so that Rotary service will be attractive to younger members, recent retirees, and working people," Germ said. "You spoke with clarity, and ground breaking legislation was passed this year at the Council on Legislation. "Clubs now have the opportunity to be who they want to be, but at the same time remain true to our core. I'm pleased to share with you that Rotarians all over the world are responding with great excitement."
The Rotary Club of Patong Beach Phuket Thailand Chartered 5th September 2001
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Photos of the week by Aewon & Michael Massey K Aewon & Michael are enjoying winter in New Zealand – & the colours are exquisite
The Rotary Club of Patong Beach Phuket Thailand Chartered 5th September 2001
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Rotary District 3330 District Governor – Theeranan Wonglow Rotary Club of Patong Beach Current Board and office holders 2015- 2016 President
Walter Wyler
Immediate Past President
Bradley Kenny
Vice President
Dr. Peter Harris
President Elect
Richard Jones
President Nominee 2017- 2018
Andy Becker
Secretary
David Arell
Treasurer
Alastair Carthew COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS & OFFICERS
Membership
Best Wanamakok
Service’s Projects
Dr. Peter Harris
Rotary Foundation
Friedrich “Sam” Fauma
Public Relations
Vasilis Stergiou
Club Administration
Alastair Carthew
Scholarships
Dr. Peter Harris
Fundraising
Martin Quirke
Sergeant at Arms
Stewart Petersen Jack Christensen
Webmaster
Vasilis Stergiou
Bulletin Editor
Denis Carpenter
Rotary Club of Patong Beach Paul Harris Fellows Andreas “Andy” Becker
Jirawat “Beer” Kuramakanok
Donald McCulloch
Hau Yin “Able” Wanamakok
Heidi Jaunch
PP Mark H Pendlebury
Patricia (Pat) Michel
Dr. Peter Harris
Multiple Paul Harris Fellow Rotarians PP Arnaud C.M.C. Verstraete (8)
Boon Pongchiboon
PP David W Arell (2)
PP Denis Carpenter (3)
PP Larry Amsden (3)
PP Martin Quirke
PP Phuwanai ”Best” Wanamakok (2)
Wolfgang Meusberger (2)
(2)
PP Bradley Kenny (4) PP Friedrich “Sam’ Fauma (3)
(3)
PP Otho Beale “O.B.”Wetzell (2)
Past Presidents 2001-2002
C.P Paiboon Upatising
2008-2009
Michael Massey
2002-2003
Jeroen Deknatel
2009-2010
Gregory WOODY Leonhard
2003-2004
Neil Cumming
2010-2011
Mark Pendlebury
2004-2005
Friedrich “Sam” Fauma
2011-2012
Best Wanamakok
2005-2006
Arnaud CMC Verstraete
2012-2013
Larry Amsden
2006-2007
David Arell
2013-2014
Denis Carpenter
2007-2008
Otho Beale “O.B” Wetzell
2014-2015
Bradley E Kenny
The Rotary Club of Patong Beach Phuket Thailand Chartered 5th September 2001
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