Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC) will host an open house at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday 19 May 2015. The meeting will be held at our regular meeting location, The River Market Restaurant. See www.cmirotary.org for directions and a map.
Our purpose is to educate the public about what our club is doing to make our community a better place, especially for the disadvantaged. Come and learn what Rotary is and is not. See what we have planned for the next several months. See what we mean by "Community Service with a Smile". The evening is also a great opportunity to meet other compassionate people from all around the globe. We are looking forward to the evening and hope you are as well.
There is no charge to attend this open house. It would be very nice if you could RSVP by simply sending a brief reply to this bulletin. We want to make sure we have enough snacks, coffee, tea and fruit for all who attend.
If you have any questions please contact secretary@cmirotary.org or call me at 089-556-4293.
The event will occur at the Grandview Hotel Convention Center on the 30th and 31st of May. Registration for the training session is on the morning of the 30th at the Convention Center. From 1300 hours to 1400 hours there will be four concurrent and different training sessions. The topics to be covered in these sessions will be: Public speaking for Presidents and District Governor Assistants (Room CGV 4); Activities and Responsibilities for Club Treasurers and Secretaries (Room CGV 5); Rotary Foundation for Foundation Chairs (Room CGV 6); and Club Public Relations for Club Board Members (Room CGV 7).
There will be four concurrent sessions from 1400 hours to 1500 hours. Leadership for Club Presidents and District Governor Assistants (Room CGV 4); Allocation of resources and case study for Club Secretary and Treasurer (Room CGV 5); Rotary Foundation resources, targets and case study for Foundation Chairpersons (Room CGV 6); and Public Relations allocation, targets and case study for Board members and PR Chairperson (Room CGV 7) .
In the evening on 30th May the installation of District Governor and Club Officers will occur. Opening Ceremonies will start at 1530 hours and other ceremonial activities will run until 1900 hours. Dinner and entertainment will occur from 1900 hours until 2200 hours.
On the 31st of May There will be a plenary session in Room CGV 3. To be covered: Signing of Memorandum of Understandings by Club Presidents for District Grants; My Rotary and Rotary Central; Question and Answer Session with PDG’s; closing ceremony and lunch.
Prices for the DTA and Installation Dinner will soon be finalized.
Of course, the main emphasis of Chiang Mai International Rotary is Service, but fellowship is also a big part of Rotary. Come and socialize, have a meal or a snack, have a drink if you like. We will reserve a table at the River Market most Tuesdays. The next mix and meet for dinner will be at 6:00 p.m. on June 2, 2015.
This can be a great opportunity to invite friends, and introduce them to other club members and guests.
Just a few housekeeping details to remember:
a. Typically we will meet in the room directly beneath the meeting room. Of course this is subject to availability. If you don't see us, ask the receptionist.
b. Non-Rotarians are welcome by invitation.
c. Each person is responsible for his / her own bill.
d. Arrive as close to 6:00 p.m. as you can allowing time for a relaxed meal before the meeting at 7:30.
d. When guests are present, do all you can to make them feel welcome.
This mix and meet is totally optional; no one is required or expected to attend. Several members are in the habit of gathering around 6:00 p.m. for dinner, this simply extends the invitation to all members and to their invited guests. Please join us!
There are several exciting things on our CMIRC horizon including:
A night of fellowship is being planned for 15 August 2015 at the Khao Mao Khao Fang Restaurant. Save the date! Details will be forthcoming as soon as plans are finalized.
The Golf Ball Drop was last year’s inaugural fund raising event and it was a huge success. This year’s event will be even better. Ticket pricing has been adjusted to allow more participants and we will launch the campaign earlier than last year.
We intend to make this an annual event and will hold it in conjunction with the Thailand International Balloon Festival. This year's tentative dates are Saturday December 5th and Sunday December 6th.
The winter clothing appeal is designed to help children in the poorest villages in the area. More specific information will be forth coming soon. In the meantime, if you plan to come to Thailand soon, perhaps you would be willing to stop by the Good Will Store, or equivalent, and purchase some warm winter clothing for small children. If that sounds like a good idea, please reply to this bulletin.
Rotary District 3310 Conference will be held at the Empress Hotel, Chiang Mai 29 April - 1 May 2016. Save the dates. District 3310 comprises of Brunei, Singapore and parts of Malaysia (Johor, Malacca, Sarawak, Labuan FT and Sabah).
The Ban Pao Witiyakhan School in Chiang Mai Province is very well administered and supports poor hill tribe children. They are sorely lacking in any sort of budget and they desperately need a water filtration system. Soon they will have one, thanks to the combined efforts of three Rotary Clubs; Rotary Club of Kamloops West, British Columbia, Canada, Rotary Club of Chiang Mai Thin Thai Ngam and Chiang Mai International Rotary Club. The project became official at the regular meeting of Chiang Mai International on March 17, 2015 when Gary Soles from Rotary Club of Kamloops presented 28,000bahttoCMIRCfor disbursement.
.
Members of all three clubs and the principal of Ban Pao Wittatakarn
Gary Soles from the Rotary Club of Kamloops visits Thailand almost every year and has become aware of the good work done by Rotarian Hope Watcharaprecha and her club, The Rotary Club of Chiang Mai Thin Thai Ngam. He mentioned that his club was looking for a project to support. She recommended the Ban Pao Witiyakhan School. In conjunction with the Chiang Mai International Rotary club due diligence was conducted and it was decided to proceed.
Chiang Mai International Rotary Club will contribute the water filter system. Rotarian Colin Jarvis made the contacts and was able to secure the the Actiwa Swiss water filter system with manual backwash with the help of a donation from the GOL Iluminado Foundation of Brazil. At the CMIRC meeting the agreement between the Rotary Clubs and the school was signed. On the 18th of March the first disbursement was made; the project is underway!
The good people from Actiwa Swiss are scheduled to come to Chiang Mai in May 2015, to inspect and implement the first system, in conjunction with CMIRC.
This project is very important to CMIRC because it's our first official collaboration with other clubs. We recognize that one of the most powerful aspects of Rotary is our ability to come together for a common good
The principal and two Rotarians from Thin Thai Ngam
Jerry will write a new story that will include the latest numbers we have from Mae Tao Clinic and a short list of possible opportunities to help them. For now this is just filler..
On 28 February 2015 there was a devastating fire which destroyed the boy's dormitory at Mae Tao Clinic's Child Development Center. The children lost everything, including critical documentation, clothing and what little money they may have had. Rotarians marshaled their resources and teamed with members of the Chiang Mai Expats club. A very short fund raising campaign yielded 134, 300 baht, all from private resources (no funds from either club were used).
Replacement of the boarding houses with brick and mortar will cost in the neighborhood of 620,000 ( $20,000 USD) What we have accomplished is a very good start. A new crowd funding campaign has begun. Those who may want to contribute are invited to visit Help Mae Tao Clinic Replace Boy's Dorm Lost in Fire!
Other organizations, including Greater Good, Thai Children's Trust and Crowd Funding by Agoa Architects are also raising money to support this effort.
