WOW - A 7.25 MILLION WRAP FOR THE JESTERS 10TH CHARITY DRIVE!!!

Mike Franklin

What a fabulous night it was at Jameson’s Irish Pub on Saturday 15th September for the final fund-raising event of the Jesters 10th Anniversary ‘Care for Kids’ Charity Drive year.
Corporate and individual sponsorship having exceeded all previous years, the Jesters Children’s fair a resounding success and the best yet, so all that was left was the Jesters Sporting Party Night to round off the 2007 Charity Drive in style. It was party night designed to cater for everybody, just as the Jesters ‘Care for Kids’ Charity Drive works to cover all of the needs of the underprivileged kids that we raise funds for. The money raised on Saturday 15th September closed the Charity Drive account for 2007 and, with the attendance and support on the night for the Auction and the Grand Raffle; it resulted in a record total and a record benefit year for the Kids.
We can hardly believe that from small beginnings ten years ago Woody, on behalf of the Jesters ‘Care for Kids Charity Drive Committee, could announce another record result in this our 10th Anniversary year of a staggering 7.25 million baht.
But what of the Jesters Sporting Party Night that preceded the announcement of the result?
Well, it was partly billed as a ‘Sporting’ night, so who better to kick it off but the New Zealand ‘All Blacks’ making the traditional Maori haka in the face of rugby World Cup opponents Portugal in Lyon. A diet of sardines is no basis for facing the scoring onslaught that was to follow, as half-time it was 52-3, with the All Blacks doubling their tally by the final whistle.
However, the ‘Party’ really kicked off in earnest at 6.45 pm when Erik Sorensen and Robert Jonasson arrived back from Trat after yet another exhausting, but highly successful marathon cycle ride with sponsorship this year approaching 750,000 baht. What can you say about these amazing guys – they do it every year, and in total have raised over 2.7 million baht on their bicycles to date. In fact Robert (who has played a little rugby), with his highly tuned and bulky physique, could easily slip into the front row of one of the world cup rugby teams.
It was their arrival back at Jameson’s that signaled the official opening by Lewis ‘Woody’ Underwood of the Jesters Sporting Party Night, and an opening set of entertainment and singer impersonations from Mike Gerrard to warm everybody up, closing with fond memories of Elvis and some amusing audience participation. Star Bangkok DJ Paul Jackson was on station throughout to segue anything that needed sequeing.
Landlord Kim Fletcher, with 30 years in the pub business to his credit, rated the evening as a ‘first’ by having to blend the Jesters Party Night Grand raffle and Auction with coverage of five live sports on the TV monitors around the pub.
At 8 pm it was back to sport with multi-screen coverage of the Wales vs. Australia match from Cardiff. No handbags, crash helmets, or bulky body armor for these guys – this is a powerhouse physical contact sport at its best with two mega-fit contending nations hammering it out in the early stages of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Given that this was mainly a sports segment, other screens were showing Premier League football with Tottenham Hotspur vs. Arsenal, and F1 Qualifying from Belgium. Undeterred by all that, Paul Jackson was able to give away some attractive spot prizes to the lucky winners. Silent bids for the auction lots had been building and this was an opportunity to put up the hand and raise the stakes even more. By this time Jameson’s was wall-to-wall with partygoers, sports fans and brother motorcycle clubs supporting the event. The car park was chocker, Harleys all about the pub entrance and it was Party-on! The half-time whistle went with Australia leading Wales 25-13, out came Welsh rarebit and Aussie pies for all to enjoy and the first lot, the 2005 Welsh Grand Slam signed shirt was auctioned for 15,000 baht, and that was just a taste of what was to come. That interval gave me the opportunity to interview the two main corporate sponsors – Steve J. Lake, Platinum Sponsor since 2004 and this year our first Diamond Sponsor and Tony Herbert of Glencore International Indonesia, first time sponsor at Triple Platinum. The latter was gratefully introduced by Capt. Steve Ponter.
The rugby spectacle continued until around 9.45 pm with the final score Australia 32 – Wales 13. It was a fitting introduction to partygoers who were experiencing world class rugby for the first time.
At this point the silent bids were revealed and the auction began in earnest by the duo of skilled auctioneers comprised f Graham Macdonald and the ebullient debut appearance of Jester Jeff Paladeau. It was great fun and auction entertainment at its best. Other items up for auction included memorabilia of Michael Schumacher, Sir Matt Busby, Arnold Palmer, and teams
Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton. There were antique Chinese furniture items, diamonds, some lovely children’s original drawings and other unique offerings, such as the papier-mâché happy family of four giraffes. All efficiently touted by Jesters Ronny and Poodle Pete with clip board ‘Sign here’ back-up from Linden and Karyn. Meanwhile, Debbie and Ingrid out back were putting the final touches to arranging the auction lots and checking the Grand raffle prizes in readiness for the draw.
The auction topped 523,000 baht, partly due to some highly enthusiastic and competitive bidding between Andy Leppard, Johnny Fox and Steve Ryser. Andy Leppard winning the battle for the Manchester United team signed football (courtesy of Mike Axford) at an impressive 100,000 baht. Steve Ryser added yet another item to his extensive F1 collection by bidding 45,000 baht for the Michael Schumacher signed shirt (also donated by Mike Axford). The quality and uniqueness of the range of items on offer added fuel to the proceedings. (The winning bids for the auction items are listed later). Then it was not too long before there was a break, with Pop’s Pattaya All Stars taking the stage for their first set.
Dancing naturally ensued to the beat of the Pattaya All Stars’ fine music, swaying in anticipation of the Grand raffle top ten prizes being drawn live, including three motor bikes, airline tickets and packages to Angkor Wat, River Kwai, and a dive trip to the Similan Islands. There were many other prizes including vouchers to the Pattaya Bay Resort and Pattaya Marriot Resort and Spa, as well as top Pattaya restaurants including Bruno’s, Mata Hari, and the Manhattan Steakhouse to complete the prize list.
The bewitching hour of midnight arrived, the energetic selling of Grand Raffle tickets by Jesters Muffy & Scar with the lovely Khirsly contributing some sort of balance to the sales drive, and it was time for the raffle box to take center stage. The top ten prizes were drawn, but sadly the winners of the motorcycles were not present – so they had that surprise to come. (A full list of prize-winners is given below.)
The entire Party Night Grand raffle, Auction, and Children’s Fair raffle results can also be seen at www.care4kids.info
The fun and activities on the Jesters Sporting Party Night can bee seen on the five PMTV networks Saturday 22nd September. Join me then and watch the Party Night unfold to its successful Charity Drive conclusion of 7.25 Million baht raised
It was a night for everyone to enjoy, making it memorable wind down to a quite extraordinary Jesters 10th Anniversary year, and a Party Night that can only be described as another WOW!

AUCTION BID WINNER

GRAND RAFFLE PRIZES WINNER