On Saturday 30 December 2006 the Rotary Club of Pattaya held their New Year Party at the Town-in-Town Hotel, Pattaya. Over 300 people filled the Grand Ballroom at the hotel and enjoyed a great evening of entertainment and merriment.
The evening started with Sergeant at Arms, Rotarian Stephen asking all to welcome President Niels.
President Niels then welcomed all VIP’s, Rotarians and Guests saying that this was the fourth Fellowship event for the Rotary Club of Pattaya of this Rotary year. He was very pleased that Pattaya is such a vibrant Rotary City – there are 5 Rotary Clubs in Pattaya. Their meetings are conducted in a variety of different languages but ours is the only multilingual club.
The Deputy Mayor of Pattaya also welcomed all to the evenings party of the first and biggest Rotary Club in Pattaya. He thanked the club for doing so much for Pattaya. There were too many things to mention individually but recent ones included the donation of Computers to Pattaya Police and the fundraising for the victims of flooding. He went on to say that Pattaya City wants to hear form and help foreigners as much as possible and the new call centre is available for anyone wanting to contact the City.
Other honorable guests included Mr Khamlah Benjawanit, President of the Esar Association of Pattaya, Khun Nittaya Patimaso ngkroh, President of the YWCA Pattaya and many other Thai and foreign guests
Exchange Student Jonathan Bosworth also addressed the party. He said that a chapter in his life was about to end and that he is going back home to South Africa in a few days to start a new one. His year as an exchange student in Thailand was about to end. He went on to say that “This chapter has been a phenomenal year in the spectacular Thailand – a place that I now call my second home. It has been filled with great adventures, many challenges which I’m very proud to have overcome, amazing travels to 30 provinces, huge amounts of fun and most importantly life-long friendships and learning that no school or university could amount to.”
Jonathan then went on to thank Rotary International, The Rotary Club of Pattaya, Banglamung School, his host families and everyone else who had become part of his life here in Pattaya. He then presented President Niels with an Exchange Student Banner.
The remaining formal part of the evening consisted of 4 new members of the Rotary Club of Pattaya being formerly welcomed as members and receiving their club pins and membership certificates.
Members whose birthdays had been since the last fellowship were also given birthday greetings and blew out the candles on the traditional birthday cake.
Prior to the great entertainment starting a sumptuous buffet dinner was served both by the poolside and in the Ballroom reception area.
The evening’s entertainment consisted of the magical fingers of Magician Steve Owen, all the way from California. Steve performed and amazed all at the party with the illusions that he performed both whilst visiting people at their tables and on stage with a close-up cameras broadcasting onto a huge screen.
The star of the show was Alan Scott Chante who gave the world premier of his new show which celebrates the life and styles of Elvis on the 30th Anniversary of his death.
Alan showed how Elvis’s life started and how his performances and costumes changed throughout his life. One of the costumes Alan wore that night was an actual one previously worn by Elvis himself.
The entertainment really was superb with the evening being kept on track by MC/ Sergeant at Arms, Rotarian Stephen.
To round off a great evening there was also a lucky ticket draw which helped to raise funds for the club. Prizes for the draw included several packs of tickets and souvenirs for the Alangkarn Theatre in Pattaya, a Fan and a Microwave oven.
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