The Movers and Shakers event held on the 3rd of December

An excellent article regarding The Movers and Shakers event held on the 3rd of December 2010 by Real Estate Magazine reporter David Buckley. The printed version of this article will appear in REM Magazine early in January.

Real Estate Magazine is an excellent source of information about real estate in Pattaya. Link to the Real Estate Magazine website.

There was one “wow” after another when this year’s Movers & Shakers (M&S) event was held early last month. But perhaps the biggest intake of breath came just a little later when the event sponsors were able to announce that more than Bt200,000 would be donated to charity.

The news was given by M&S organiser Cees Cuijpers, whose Town & Country Property company are one of the founding sponsors of the event along with JVK International Movers and this magazine, Rem.

Cees said: “I’m delighted to inform everyone linked with M&S that both the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) and AustCham (the Australian Chamber of Commerce) have decided to merge their share of the charity proceeds and give it to the Melissa Cosgrove Children Foundation (MCCF), the chosen charity of the Lighthouse Club Pattaya!

“This means MCCF will receive no less than Bt210,000 from the event! Now that is a great donation to charity! So many thanks to all involved!”

Tracy Cosgrove, the driving force and founder of MCCF, said: “This will start the new year off brilliantly. We have a new project in mind for 2011 which wouldn’t have been possible without this money. I’m sure the children in our care will be delighted. This donation can and will make a big difference to them.”

Special thanks must go to the three key sponsors – The Cliff by Nova Group condominium, the Siam Royal View housing development, and Kone, the elevators and escalators company. Their sizeable donations helped ensure that everyone had a good time, but with plenty held in reserve to benefit MCCF.

Yes, a big event was promised ... and a big day and night was delivered. That was the view of everyone I spoke to during and after the event.

M&S is a combination of golf day followed by an evening net- working party.

At the risk of stretching journalistic licence you could say that the night had a thousand eyes (as Bobby Vee once sang) because it is estimated that more than 500 people attended the evening at the Centara Grand Mirage at Wong-Amat.

Earlier in the day the Texas Scramble golf tournament had been held at the Plutaluang Navy course at Sattahip

When guests for the evening event were gathered on the terrace outside the ballroom at the

Centara Grand Mirage there was an air of uncertainty.

“Is this it?” some were starting to ask as the time ticked away. It wasn’t a criticism of the terrace area which was superbly presented and served by a stage on which lady violinists performed before moving among the guests while continuing to play.

No, it was just that, based on their experience the previous year, they had come to expect more. And more is exactly what they got!

At the appointed time Centara staff started to ring bells summoning guests into the ballroom area.

Witness reactions

Event organiser Cees Cuijpers, MD of Town & Country Property, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stand near the entrance and witness some of the reactions.

“You should have seen the look on the faces of people,” he told me later. “It was great just to stand there and watch.”

What greeted the M&S guests was a giant ballroom with a big stage set in the middle. Two cocktail vans were there to dispense every kind of drink and Centara staff were on hand to give out the more conservative beer and wine.

There were food stations all over the area, with some serving delicious ham and beef off the bone.

“This food is excellent,” said one of my golf team members later in the evening while wolfing down what looked like his third helping of ham.

“I’m stuffed,” said another team member indicating that the food was so good he has over-indulged.

But plenty happened before they reached this stage.

Soon after the doors to the ballroom had been opened two dancers from Zico’s Brazilian Bar and Grill gave a high-tempo start to proceedings with their energetic dance routine.

Dance delight

These ladies had delighted Lighthouse Club members in Centara’s Zulu bar earlier in the year and they were excellent again. At one point they got as male member of the audience up to dance with them. He was so good I wondered if he was a dance pro himself.

Next on stage were ladies modeling swimwear collections. The fashion show was organised by Katalina Collections in association with Ariz Events Design. After the show the models were happy to pose with guests in what p[roved to be a long photo session.

On-stage proceedings were rounded off when DJ Ferris B took control of the music and he was joined by dancers from Walking Street’s Insomnia Club. Add in plenty of food, more than enough to drink, lots of good company and fun in no short measure and you can understand why many were talking about it for days afterwards.

And the good news is that Cees has already started talking about M&S 2011. He’s certainly created a tough act to follow but I know he will do his utmost to create something fresh and exciting.  

Close to 100 golfers lined up for the “shotgun” start on the North and West courses at the Plutaluang Navy facility at Sattahip as part of the Movers & Shakers charity event.

Small changes were made to the format compared to last year to give every team an even better chance to compete. This time handicap allowances were taken into account and each player had to contribute at least three drives in the Texas Scramble format. Several players had to wait until their 17th hole before getting their final drive to count which made for some tense moments, especially among the high handicappers. But it was a team of high handicappers who eventually emerged victorious. They were from the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital. In second place was the quartet from developers Tudor Court and third were the Bunker Boyz.

The winning teams received their prizes at the Centara Grand Mirage along with individuals who collected technical prizes for shots, such as longest drive, closest to the flag and the like.