Volume 54
November 2004
RIVER RAFTING WEEKEND

ïTwenty seven of our more intrepid members enjoyed a fun weekend, 28/29th August, rafting on the Khek river at Lom Sak, Phitsanuloke. After a hard days boating, superb accommodation and food welcomed them at the Rain Forest Resort. Situated near beautiful Kang Song Waterfall, the resort is surrounded by National and Historical Parks of Northern Thailand. Looks like a great time was had by all and we'll be organizing more such adventure trips in the future.
::EVENTS AND COMPETITIONS::
ïThe poolside at the Amari Watergate Hotel took on a Chinese appearance for the 10th Clark Hatch Anniversary Party held on 23rd July, with the female staff looking stunning in their cheongsams! Plenty of entertainment, including stick fighting, singing, and aerobic dance displays kept the guests enthralled whilst tucking into the delicious food. Photos show General Manager Pierre-Andre Pelletier and local celebrities helping cut the cake; and a traditional Chinese fan dance performed by our talented staff.

ïA Friendly Squash Match was held at the Watergate center on 22nd August making good use of the two superb courts. A strong team from the Riverine Place club came out eventual winners.

ïIt was Aerobic Dance Marathon time at the Amari Atrium Hotel on 29th August. This annual event, ably organized by manager Khun Urai and her staff, drew a good crowd of aerobic aficionados who danced away the 3 hours knowing all proceeds were being donated to charity! Photo shows the dance leaders and some of the participants.
ïAlso in late August was our annual Badminton Tournament held at the Airforce courts. Organised by management and staff from the Vibhavadi center this keenly contested competition ended with the Chaengwattana team coming out winners with two teams from the Amari Watergate Hotel center in 2nd and 3rd places. Photo shows the winning teams on the podium.
STAFF PROMOTIONS

ïIt's always gratifying to see loyal staff being promoted through the ranks to senior positions of responsibility and authority. Clark Hatch Fitness Centers do not poach staff from other organizations, (although other fitness organizations do poach from Clark Hatch!), but recruit staff from students who are sent from universities and colleges in the area for a two to three month internship at various Clark Hatch branches. In fact almost all our incumbent managers started as student interns and were promoted through the ranks to their present positions.
Three staff members have recently earned promotions. Assistant Manager Chamnong Choowa has recently taken over as manager of the Century Park Hotel center. Chamnong has worked at the Century since early 1997 and was promoted to Assistant Manager in 2000. He takes over from Senior Manager Lamlert Nameeya who was previously overseeing the Century but has now been promoted to General Manager and is based at the Thaniya center. He has 17 years of valuable experience with Clark Hatch. Another familiar face to many members is Pavana Saypong (Yui) who through 12 years of dedicated service has earned her promotion to Assistant Manager Training based at the Head Office, Thaniya center. Congratulations to all these hard-working, loyal staff!

UPCOMING EVENTS

ïThree highly popular, well-established events are scheduled for October and November. The 8th Aerobics Marathon for AIDS Charities will be held on Sunday 3rd October from 1 to 4pm in the Amari Watergate Hotel Ballroom. Later in the month, at midnight on Saturday, 16th October the 7th Amari Watergate Hotel & BMW Group Thailand Midnight Run 2004, will be held. This consists of a 6km or a 12 km run, so, no matter what your level of fitness, you can comfortably participate in this event. Try them both; your entry fees will go to very, very worthwhile charities. Our Annual Sports Day will be held on 21st November at the Chulalongkorn University Stadium. Events schedules will be posted soon so check the notice board if you wish to participate.
::CLARK HATCH FITNESS CENTERS:: - Havens of peace and quiet.
ïBangkok is now known as one of the noisiest places on earth. If it's not the motorcycles and tuk tuks competing against one another, then it's that guy with his whistle at the entrance to the soi directing traffic, or the moron with the megaphone on the Skytrain station barking out orders. Yes, I've made official complaints to the BTS but they take not a blind bit of notice!

This incessant noise really can stress people out and have a detrimental effect on our health. We like to think of Clark Hatch centers as oases of tranquility in the midst of all this madness; a place to exercise, unwind, relax, meet friends, and leave in a happier frame of mind than when you arrived. If you want to workout in a discotheque-like atmosphere with booming loudspeakers and pulsating lights, then some of the mega-gyms in the city are for you. Here we prefer more subdued, more relaxing music (mainly because management can't afford expensive sound systems) and anything but rap!

With this in mind we request members to help promote this pleasant atmosphere by restricting their mobile telephone use on the premises, especially in the gymnasium. There is nothing more off-putting than listening to a member yapping away on their mobile whilst ensconcing themselves on a piece of exercise equipment for the duration - it's even worse than rap music!

We all like to have a laugh and a joke in the gym; I've had more good laughs whilst working out with chums in the gym than anywhere else (it's one of the few places I can pick up on what they're saying after all!). But let's keep the volume under control by cutting down on the screaming and shouting - unless we're already deaf it really shouldn't be necessary. Thank you!!