Friday, July 11, 2008

Thai Center Update

Location: 3260 W. Irving Park, Chicago, IL, 60618


We now have the official sign for our Thai Center

and the Thai Association logo.
This Thai Center has finally becoming a reality.
Thank you to Khun Vallapa Kongsri,
the current President of The Thai American Association of Illinois who has dedicated countless of her personal time for this office.

Services at the Thai Center
Please note that all plans are in progress. The Thai Center will make another official announcement when each service is in effective. To obtain update information, you can call the Thai Center at 773-463-THAI or email ThaiChicagoland@gmail.com.

Upcoming Services:

Legal Consultation
- Provide referral access to Attorney who could speak Thai
- Provide general knowledge about laws, Civic & Citizenship, immigration & visa
- Provide legal information about family-related issues

Health Consultation
- Provide free "health consultation" by Thai physician
- Provide advice in child care and daycare
- Provide advice in elder care and create activity programs for seniors

Financial consultation
- Provide advice about financial plans
- Provide advice and help seek resources to support people in financial needs or people with low income
- Provide advice about retirement plans
- Provide advice and help seek fundings for college student in need

Education Information
- Provide various classes such as basic computer, ESL (English as a Second Language), ect.
- Provide information about various life improvement, awareness workshops for seniors, crime prevention, fire safety, cancer, medication, ect.

Professional Counselors include:
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Social Worker
- Lawyer, Financial Counselor

All services are provided at FREE of charge.
Volunteers needed. Please contact ThaiChicagoland@gmail.com.
______________________________________________

Thank you to Khun Poxie Xumsai and Khun Nanta Buranakarnchana for their donations of the office's signs. Both signs are great in quality and they look wonderful. Both Khun Poxie and Khun Nanta are our formal presidents of the Thai Association and now serve as Board Members.
Stepping inside the office, the reception desk on right was donated by Mr. Bob Roubitchek and Khun Peter Kajornjit from International Freight Services. The business website is www.ifscargo.com.
The black couch was donated by Khun Nanta Buranakranchana.
Two cubicles on right and the conference table set were donated by Khun Poxie and Khun Nancy Xumsai from Century21 SGR. And Century21SGR business website is www.century21sgr.comThe cubicles will be used for consultation services.The President's cubicle is right behind the conference table.High quality office blinds were donated by Khun Sinee Techa from Lily's Window Fashions. Khun Sinee is also one of our Board Member. Her business website is www.lilyswindow.com.
Khun James Limpichareon is putting up King's picture over the front door. He is the property owner of the Thai Center and has done so much more in the making-process of the Thai Center. Thank you so much for your greatest contribution to our Thai Community. We could not have done this without you.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to all the hard working team behind the scene, helping out in transporting the cubicle parts, putting them together and did the cleaning up. Your dedication to our Thai Community is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Khun Jumnong and Khun Chantipa Limson
Khun Kopong and Khun Nongtipa Limson
Khun Alex Limson and Dean, his son
Khun Tippi Lee
PC Leung and Amie Hana

And we also want to thank the painting team for their great job done.
Khun Naruchai Honglongnophakun
Khun Suvej Suksuras
Khun Taewin Maneewan
Khun Kompol Chemchoi

____________________________________________

On June 11, we had a group of special guests from Thailand, introduced to us by Consul-General, Mr. Narong Sasitorn. The group consisted of 11 high rank Government Officials and the Expert Team- Social Workers, Psychologist and Psychiatrist from Thailand.
The team were at Wat Dhammaram on Sunday, July 13, presented a free seminar "Stress control and family related issue management". A lot of Thai people living outside Thailand married to the different racial ethnic background persons, and sometime these differences in our cultural background may lead them into or causing some stressful living lifestyle. The seminar was very helpful.
Some information books from the team were left at the Thai Center for everybody to read. We will eventually have a hotline number and trained staffs to take calls. Stay tune for further information.
Arrival of the expert team with the Consul-General.
The team leader was Mr. Theerakun Niyom (on left), Director of General of Consulate Affair in Thailand. Honorable Narong Sasitorn, consul-General, joined our meeting on right.
Other team members are:

Dr. M.L. Somchai Chakrabhand
นายแพทย์หม่อมหลวงสมชาย จักรพันธ์, อธิบดีกรมสุขภาพจิต

Dr. Kiattibhoom Vongrachit
น.พ. เกียรติภูมิ วงศ์รจิต, นายแพทย์ 9

Dr. Paritat Silpakit
น.พ. ปริืืทรรศ ศิลปกิจ, นายแพทย์ 9 ร.พ. สวนปรุง

Dr. Duangta Graipaspong- ผู้ป่วยจิตเวชที่มีคดี
พ.ญ. ดวงตา ไกรภัสสร์พงษ์, นายแพทย์ สถาบันกัลยาราช นครินทร์

Dr. Benjaporn Panyayoung- จิตเวชเด็ก
พ.ญ. เบญจพร ปัญญายง, นายแพทย์ 9 วช สถาบันกัลยาราชนครินทร์

Miss Vilai Sereesitthipitak
น.ส. วิไล เสรีสิืทธิพิทักษ์, นักจิตวิทยา 8 ว. สำนักพัฒนา สุขภาพจิต

Ms. Naruemol Ubolthip
น.ส. นฤมล อุบลทิพย์, ผู้อำนวยการกลุ่มการพัฒนาสุขภาพจิต

Mrs. Sarapee Sila
นางสารภี ศิลา, ผู้อำนวยการสำนักฯ กระทรวง พ.ม.

Consul-General (2nd from right) donated a brand new flat screen computer and a printer to the Thai Center. Thank you very much ka.Khun Vallapa Kongsri (2nd from left) gave an Appreciation Certificate on behalf of the Thai Association to Miss Nongtipa Limson (2nd from right) for her Art Contribution for the Thai Center's fund raising. In this picture, Khun Nongtipa accepted the Certificate along with her family.
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Special Scoop

We were invited to the BBQ dinner at the Consul-General's mansion that same evening.
My most favorite food- papaya salad or somtum ส้มตำ
and grilled beef เนื้อย่าง
BBQ chickenไก่ย่าง
red curry chicken
chicken ginger
chicken curry
Speech by Consul-General
Speech by Mr. Theerakhun
Mosquito repellent torch was pretty helpful that night.
______________________________________

Special Announcement

Suncast TV's program " Spice Up Thai Food"
will be in the front coverage of
Food Industry News, August 2008 issue.


http://www.suncastv.com/channels/spiceup.html

Spice up Thai Food

Learn How to Cook Thai Food with the Renowned
Thai Chef Arun Sampanthavivat

Produced by SuncasTV and Kendall College
Sponsored by Thai Trade

______________________________________

Special Announcement from
Thai Trade Center in Chicago

upcoming trade shows in Bangkok-Thailand

1. Made In Thailand Special 2008
August 8-17, 2008 @ Impact Muang Thong Thani
www.madeinthailandfair.com

2. Bangkok International Fashion Fair & Bangkok International Leather Fair (BIFF & BIL 2008)
August 27-31, 2008 @ BITEC, Bangna
www.biffandbil.com

3. The 42nd Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair
September 11-15, 2008 @Impact Challenger
www.bangkokgemsfair.com

4. Thailand International Logistics Fair 2008
September 11-13, 2008 @BITEC, Bangna
www.logisticsfair.com

5. Thailand Entertainment Expo 2008
Sep 24-28, 2008 @Siam Paragon Complex
www.thailandentertainmentexpo.com ( DEP is the organizer)

6. Bangkok International Gift Fair & Bangkok International Houseware Fair (BIG & BIH)
October 14-19, 2008 @ IMPACT Challenger
www.bigndbih.com

7. Thailand Health & Beauty Show 2008
November 5-9, 2008 @ IMPACT Muang Thong Thani
www.thaitradefair.com

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Asian Festival
"This is a great festival"

13015 Dunhill Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030
Tel 703-589-4144 Email info@asianfestivaldc.com
Date/Time: Saturday, August 9, 2008 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 10, 2008 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

PRESS RELEASE

Fairfax, VA – It’s time for the fifth annual Asian Festival!
The Asian Festival is a two-day FREE

ADMISSION event to promote a greater understanding of the Asian countries and cultures. Join us at the Lake Newport Tennis Facility in Reston, VA on Saturday, August 9 and Sunday, August 10, 2008.

This year’s festival is showcasing China: Beijing celebrates the 2008 Olympic Games! A special Olympic Parade will be on both Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. There are 4 different stages highlighting "non-stop" best renowned performers on main Cultural Stage; a Battle of the Bands on the Hip Hop Stage; Asian martial arts demonstrations and tournament at the Boxing Indoor Arena; and special performances on the Chinese Village Stage presented by Virginia Lottery.

While you’re at the Festival, be sure to visit the food and multi-cultural marketplace. With more than 30 Asian food vendors and 120 retail and exhibitions booth, the 5th Asian Festival will be the largest Asian cultural festival in the Washington Metro area.

The Thai Tennis Organization in America (TTOA), Singha Beer, United States Tennis Association, Reston Association, TETRA, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Virginia Lottery, HSBC Bank, Starbucks, Sprint, Harris Teeter, CP, 97.1 FM, Eastland Food Corporation, and many more are sponsoring the event.

NINE Asian countries--Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Lao--have confirmed to participate in “Destination Asia” exhibition booth, presented by CP, where each asian embassy or community organizations showcase their cultural heritage by displaying their country’s art, literature, tourism, culture, and history.

There will be four prizes of $500 each for the following categories: most colorful; most informative; most innovative; and most integrated. We are inviting and recommending everyone to stop by to vote.

Several tennis attractions will occur in conjunction with the Asian Festival, including the all-day Tennis Zone, Quick Start Tournament in Children Conner, the Tennis Block Party, and the USTA Singha Beer prize money Men’s and Women’s Open Tournament. The Tennis Zone includes a Nintendo Wii tournament, the fastest serve contest, an interactive sport wall, US Open raffle prizes, and other tennis games. The Block Party, which occurs from 4:00–6:00 p.m. on Saturday August 9th, includes a free tennis clinic, a chance to meet tour players from the Legg Mason Classic Tournament, a racquet demo, and even on-court prizes. Finally, be sure to watch and cheer for your favorite local tennis players as they compete for a chance to win one of the USTA largest prize-money tournament in town!

The Asian Festival is going GREEN!
The Green Business is implementing green initiatives at this year’s Asian Festival. These green initiatives include:
RECYCLING of ALL bottles, plastic containers, cardboard boxes, tennis ball cans and aluminum/steel cans. Recycled material will also be used.
REWARD LOW-EMISSION FORMS OF TRANSPORATION. Free valet parking for bicycles and priority parking spots for hybrid and clean fuel cars.
MAKING “GREEN” A PRIORITY. Encourage ALL staff, volunteers and vendors participating in this year’s festival to identify opportunities to reduce waste, energy, water and material consumption.
REUSE. ALL tennis balls used during the festival’s tennis tournament will be donated to local area schools to be used in their tennis programs.
FOOD DONATION. After the event, any non-perishable leftover food will be donated to local food banks and shelters.
GREEN MARKETING. Promote green practices and an environmentally friendly lifestyle on the event’s website – www.asianfestivaldc.com.
GREEN AWARENESS. During the festival, banners will be placed in visible areas listing “10 simple ways to green your lifestyle and help the planet”
LONG-TERM ENVIRONMENTAL VISION. This is just a start; it is our goal to make the Asian Festival even more environmentally friendly in future years.

Come join in the fun at this year’s Asian Festival!
Visit www.asianfestivaldc.com for more information.

Location: Lake Newport Tennis Facility
11452 Baron Cameron Avenue
Reston, VA 20194
Date/Time: Saturday, August 9, 2008 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 10, 2008 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Parking: Off-site Parking is available at the Reston Association Building (with free shuttle service) 1930 Isaac Newton Square, Reston, VA 20190

Note: PRIORITY Parking available for low-emission vehicles and VALET Parking available for all bicyclists. Bike parking will be managed by Fairfax Advocates for better Bicycling, The Bike Lane and Washington Area Bicyclist Association


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amie,

Good morning! I want to " CONGRATULATE " you for your hardwork and giving your effort in the new facility of the new THAI CENTER.

CONGRATULATIONS! ! !
ALAN

Unknown said...

DEAR AMIE,

WE ARE IN THAILAND,HOWEVER,WE STILL KEEP IN TOUCH WITH YOU THRU YOUR E-MAIL. YOU HAVE BEEN DOING A GREAT JOB.


PEE CHAN AND NONGTIPA