MekhongKurt Posted August 3, 2003 Report Share Posted August 3, 2003 Fourth general meeting to explain the aims and possibilities of the association and to accept new members. Membershp fees: 200 baht/year for individuals, 400 baht/year for organizations (which includes one individual membership), nd a one-time 50-baht registration fee for a laminated membership card. This club was formerly known as "The Bangkok Expats' Club." The club IS continuing, despite rumors to the contrary, so please stop by. We will meet at The Office Bar & Grill, 10/5 Sukhumvit Soi 33. Go along the Soi to The Degas Club (on your right coming from Sukhumvit Road),;you'll see a sign for The Office Bar & Grill. Turn into the driveway there of a car park. The bar is at the rear corner of the building on your left. See you there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 3, 2003 Report Share Posted August 3, 2003 No information as to what this is about. Can you post the aims and possibilities of the association or is it some kind of a secret society? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kohchaiBKK Posted August 3, 2003 Report Share Posted August 3, 2003 Rabbit, Not much to do on Sunday mornings, but I live close by and popped over to the meeting. No secret society from what I could see. The "possibilities of the association", the "aims", and their entire agenda is still up in the air, but that was what the meeting was about. It was just a loose group of people discussing what they think it should be, with beer in hand in a casual setting. Among the items discussed were: 1. The success of a similar club in Pattaya. 2. The financial advantages of forming a group, such as in healthcare, networking, job-placement, etc. 3.The lack of support groups in Bangkok for foreigners in need of help of just about any kind. 4.The image people have of expats here as predominantly lazy, alchoholic womanizers. (I particularly disliked this one, as I am not lazy) The subject of dues was brought up, and all agreed that none should be asked for until the assn had something to offer. While I am sure the Office Bar profited somewhat by the meeting being held there, it was almost certainly offset by the free rounds offered. I'm not sure if this will ever really get off the ground, but I applaud them for giving it a try. Only about 20 people showed up for it. I could have stayed home, logged on to this board, and gotten into meaningless arguments with wankers, but that's gotten a bit tiresome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted August 4, 2003 Report Share Posted August 4, 2003 still not in town! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 8, 2003 Report Share Posted August 8, 2003 MK, While I welcome any intiative that groups people together for the benefit of all I'm a bit at los over this new intiative. 200 Baht is nothing, but can you explain a bit more as to the purpose of this association, what's its agenda etc. If this is still unclear, as another poster mentions, then what's the fee for, how do you keep accounts etc. etc. Their are many farang associations already in existence. Foreign Cahmbers come to mind, as do the english chapters of Rotary Clubs etc. If you wish to add serious value its better to form a small working group first that sets objectives, agenda's etc. instead of stating meetings without. These so called meetings over beer without clear agenda's tend to falter before they ever got off the ground. I see that one of the objectives - mentioned by another poster who attended one the early meetings - is to work on the negative image of farang in Thailand (lazy, drunken womenizers etc.). Wondering then why a bar in a farang oriented girly bar street is chosen as venue. Not exactly a good way to change that image. (even though I myself doubt that that's the general image of the average expat.) Not wanting to be negative (Flame away) just my take on this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted August 8, 2003 Report Share Posted August 8, 2003 Hi orandanodes, as there's a thread in GD discussing Bangkok Expats' Association I suggest you post in that to avoid confusion. http://board.nanaplaza.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB1&Number=234417&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=7&fpart=1 elef Moderator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MekhongKurt Posted August 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2003 Hi, Orandanodes -- I hope this post will clear up some of the matters you addressed. First, I had nothing to do with the choice of a temporary venue or with the schedule of the meetings. Both were established by the original conceiver of the association and the owner of the current venue before I even knew the organization existed -- and both the venue and the meeting schedule had been announced in other forums by the time I became aware of them, so there was nothing I could see to do other than to go with those pre-determined matters. I have a number of friends who are bar owners who have complained bitterly to me that I didn't choose their place for the venue, and I've had to explain, repeatedly, what I just said above. Second, yes, there indeed are many other foreigner-oriented organizations in Bangkok already. You mentioned foreign chambers of commerce as an example. At whom are such chambers targeted? -- quite rightly, they are oriented towards businessmen and businesswomen, a group representing a *sub-set* of the foreign community in Bangkok. Then there are nationality-based groups, such as the British club, members of which represent another sub-set of the city's foreign community. The aim of The Bangkok Expats' Association in terms of membership is to be open to the *entire* foreign community *and* to Thais, so as to have as broadly-based a membership as possible. This distinguishes The Bangkok Expats' Association from other organizations, at least as far as I know. Right now we are not accepting, let alone collecting, *any* dues. Lawyer friends of mine are working on getting the association established as a legally-registered non-profit organization. The aim is NOT to make money -- which, under Thai law, a non-profit organization cannot do anyway, as I understand it. In any case, I myself am not the least bit interested in having the association make a single satang. One might say I'm trying my dead-level best to make the best out of a difficult situation. Even Bob, the current venue's owner, is concerned about having meetings in his bar, given that we want the association to be open to those not interested in the girlie bar scene, open including to families. But one problem we are facing in changing venues involves the expense to members, some of whom are on limited incomes. If we change to a hotel conference room, for example, although we almost certainly could get the room itself for free, any food or drink people might wish comes at a steep price in such a venue, perhaps putting attendance out of the financial reach of some members, something we hope to avoid. As for the specific goals, I've mentioned some earlier. Networking, both personally and professionally, is one. Next meeting we have a set topic about which members will exchange information of potential personal benefit to some of the members. Classes are another longer-range goal. Still another is a crisis-intervention hotline, and we are fortunate to have a member who is a psychologist and who has expertise in this area and is keenly interested in taking part in such a project. We also are dealing -- if informally at this stage -- with an insurance company for group medical insurance, medical insurance at a discount. We hope to emulate the Pattaya Expats' Club and persuade merchants to grant our members discounts for goods and services. We also hope to be able to arrange discount travel tours. And we are completely open to any new ideas, so long as the majority of the members agree; after all, as we've said repeatedly, the association is to be *member*-driven. I hope this clarifies matters. Thanks for the inquiry. Mekhong Kurt, Acting President The Bangkok Expats' Association bangkokexpatsassociation@thai.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted August 9, 2003 Report Share Posted August 9, 2003 Hi, MekhongKurt copied the last 2 posts to abovementioned thread in GD, so I close this thread. Further discussions in GD! elef Moderator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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