Moving and Shaking rocks Pattaya for charity
Corporate networking has become almost a business in itself among the various working expatriate communities in Thailand, and one of the most prominent is Movers & Shakers.
Founded in 2009 by Dutch expat and Pattaya businessman Cees Cuijpers, Movers & Shakers held their first quarterly event in the resort city, at the plush Havana Bar in the Holiday Inn on 8 March.
The night, not surprisingly, was well attended and will no doubt be remembered in years to come as a watershed moment in the growing networking for charity organization that is Movers & Shakers.
Cees Cuijpers has been living in Pattaya since 1997 and, as the managing partner in a local real estate business, has built up a long list of contacts and a deserved reputation for honesty and integrity.
Looking to give something back, Cees used his contacts and the knowledge gained from attending a variety of events organized by a variety of chambers of commerce as well as other social and corporate evening activities, to set up Movers & Shakers and have the confidence to run a networking event.
As Cees noted, coming up with the name for corporate networking charity wasn’t hard. One of the two co-sponsors of the first event, held in September 2009 and attended by more than 400 people, was JVK International Movers. So, the first part of the name wasn’t hard to arrive at; the Shakers part, says Cees, seemed natural enough given he is in the property development side of the real estate industry.
Soon after that first event, Cees joined the committee of another networking organization, the Lighthouse Club (LHC). He helped expand LHC from a monthly networking event with 30 or 40 in attendance to a more slick and popular operation attended by up to 300 people a month.
Among the charities to benefit from Movers & Shakers are Sister Joan Evans in Klong Toei in Bangkok, Triam School Foundation in Chantaburi and the Hand-to_hand Foundation in Pattaya.
Cees makes the point that he is not looking simply for numbers, but rather attempts to have quality guests as the keystone for Movers & Shakers events. All his guests are either business owners or decision makers and Cees has a small but select number of his staff who keep an eye on proceedings to make sure guests are having a good time and no one is left to fend for themselves.
The quarterly events to be held in Pattaya are almost certain to become a major part of the corporate landscape of the city. The next Movers & Shakers event for Pattaya will take place on Friday evening 14 June in the Havana Bar.
