Posted by John Schorr on Feb 16, 2020

Well we’re off up and running for 2020! We supported Love is in the Air: Frank Sinatra Tribute, a fundraiser for the Warm Heart Foundation anti-smoke campaign at the Gymkhana Club on Saturday, February 1 and are in the process of re-establishing contact with the Gymkhana Club for possible future events.

We are also getting ready for our annual Children’s Charity Duck Race on February 22 at Centre of the Universe Pool and Resort; be sure to get a duck in this race! First prize: 20,000 Baht gift certificate; 2nd 10,000 Baht; 3rd 5,000 Baht!! Ducks are 500 Baht each and only 300 will race this year!

Our service projects continue to do great work under our mission to improve Child Safety, Health and Education in Northern Thailand. Be sure to check out the project champion reports below.

We have continued our wonderful relationship with the children at the Warm Heart Foundation and this year we will sponsor Nong Gai’s board for the entire year. Pictured right is P. John with Nong Gai and Warm Heart co-director Evelind Schecter.

Also, beyond our established club projects, CMIRC has taken on a coordinating role for two projects sponsored by the Thai Thaim Foundation and the Gfeller Family Farm Foundation of Park Rapids, Minnesota, USA. CMIRC Rotarian Craig Clark and his wife Ann Gfeller Clark visited us in January and shared the wonderful news of progress at the Roi Et Province water project under the supervision of CMIRC Rotarian Dr. Narong.

Also, the Hoapai Holistic Community Development Project focused on sustainable agriculture for a Red Lahu village in Mae Hong Song Province. This will be led by soon-to-be CMIRC Rotarian Niwatchai. Avocados, coffee, tea, and honeybees will replace the environmentally harmful corn plantations there. Rtn. Craig and Ann are both true examples of the Rotary motto: Service Above Self!!

Within the club we continue to have a very active membership, currently twenty-five active members and two honorary members. We will be adding at least one new member in mid-February, so our numbers continue to grow.

There were some leadership changes in January: Rtn. Mike Gholson has stepped down as President Nominee and Youth Director but will remain as the adviser for our Chiang Mai International School Interact Club. Rtn. Mike will be replaced as President Nominee by Rtn. and Service Projects Chair Dylan Thomason. Rtn. William Churchill will take on the role of Youth Programs Director while remaining as our Liaison with the Rotaract Club of Payap University.

I’d like to add another word of thanks to the message this month for Tony at Yummy Pizza in Mae Hia. Tony has allowed us to advertise and promote CMIRC and Rotary events on his well-attended Wednesday music evenings! It's good food and good music at Yummy Pizza on Wednesday evenings starting around 7pm!

This month's bulletin is a couple weeks late due to other commitments of the editor, so that permits me to pass along some late-breaking news. We learned that the club's nominee, Avis Rideout of the Agape Home in Chiang Mai, was named as a top 11 semi-finalist of THE ONE International Humanitarian Award 2020, sponsored by Rotary District 3450, Hong Kong. Very well-deserved recognition for her work. The winner receives U.S.$100,000 and each of the two runners-up receive U.S.$50,000. Two years ago our CMIRC nominee Kanchana Thornton of Burma Children Medical Fund was a runner up and received U.S.$50,000. Let's hope that Avis has similar (or better) recognition.

Thank you to PP. Jerry and Rtn. Tabatha who contributed greatly to this effort with special thanks to visiting Rtn. Wessel Veenstra from the Rotary Club of Franeker, Netherlands, who initially suggested and actively advocated that CMIRC nominate Avis for her lifelong work with children suffering from the AIDS-HIV epidemic.

Finally, if you are excited about supporting meaningful service in a part of the world where children still have many unmet basic needs, contact me and I will tell you how you can join us or support us in our efforts to improve Child Safety, Health and Education in Northern Thailand: johnschorr@hotmail.com , CMIRC President and Membership Chair 2019-2020.