Guest Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Well, best of luck with it all. Your group might want to consider moving the venue and the registered headquarters from a bar though. You've only been at it a couple of weeks and you can see the kaka it starts. Expats 'Clubs', 'Associations' are famous for simple being an excuse for a bunch of boozers to get out of the house. Your lawyers office will do for a registered office (he must have many already) and then you can move the venue around, trying to offend as few as possible in the trek. But, not to fret, you'll offend plenty anyway. Might want to camoflogue the name a bit as well. Expats already know who they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Just a suggestion, but you may want to move to a more respected location, if you like endorsement form the ministry of culture or other government offices. I know the office bar and as a Soi 33 bar goes it probably one of the best and most decent. Still its a girly venue which may not sit so well with some potential expats. And if you like the association in time to gain any leverage with Thai authorities a respectable venue will be important. You could approach for instance some foreign managers at top hotels. I'm sure some won't mind to host suc meetings at affordable rates, if they think it'll advertise their hotel to a broader clientele. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straycat Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Says orandanodes: I know the office bar and as a Soi 33 bar goes it probably one of the best and most decent. [Chorus] Sawasdee KAAAAAAAA! (agree though with your post) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MekhongKurt Posted August 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2003 Hi All -- In a different area of the www.nanaplaza.com message board, I got the following message this morning: 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 sushi I replied there, and want to post that reply here as well, so here goes: 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...
MekhongKurt Posted August 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 Hi, All -- I'm wondering if any members of this board might have any suggestions regarding a suitable venue for meetings of the association? -- a non-controversial venue, I mean. Even now I am having to explain on a daily basis how the current (and only temporary) venue came to *be* the venue in the first place, as I've explained in earlier posts here and elsewhere. Just this morning a close friend criticized me for "blatantly advertising" in another site because in that site I put up the schedule of meetings for the remainder of this month -- "blatantly advertising" for the meeting venue. I frankly don't see how announcing the time and place of meetings is advertising per se, though of course to mention the name of a venue does put that venue's name in front of members of the public. Short of having meetings in someone's home, I see no way to avoid "advertising" a venue -- unless it is simply not to make public mention of it at *all.* Anyway, any useful suggestions regarding a neutral venue will be appreciated -- appreciated more than you realize! ;-) And thanks to moderators Khun Sanuk and Khun Elef for their kind and timely help in steering me in the right direction (or at least I *hope* I'm moving the right way by no longer mentioning the times, dates, and venue for meetings!). Cheers -- Mekhong Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted August 12, 2003 Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 Hi Khun Kurt, as you asked KS and got his permission you can post your meetings in Meetings. elef Moderator Meetings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 12, 2003 Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 Lumpini Park might be a good spot for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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