September Meeting Chiang Mai Expats Club

Date: Saturday, 24 September

Time: 10 am for social time; 10:30 am start of the meeting

Place: The Shangri La Hotel, Chang Klan Rd.

Cost: 120 baht for members, 170 for guests; includes coffee or tea, ice water, sweet treat and fruit

Program: Cedric Piralla, from the International Committee of the Red Cross with an introduction about the work of his organization.

Information: //e-mail removed// or www.chiangmaiexpatsclub.com

The Chiang Mai Expats Club meets every 4th Saturday of each month at the Shangri La Hotel, with a variety of guest speakers, an open forum, access to advice from experts on topics ranging from health care and insurance to visas. Plus, the members enjoy the Lucky Draw and book/DVD exchange. It's a fun way to meet fellow expats and to learn about Outside Group Activities and local resources.

I've read numerous times in the past that the Chiang Mai Expat's Club was basically a platform for people to sell things like insurance and financial services, and that has kept me away from meetings. Is this still the case?

The CM Expats Club has a variety of sponsors, offering services that range from kitchen design, banking, food suppliers, travel, custom tailoring and, yes financial services and insurance. Here is a complete list of the sponsors:,

http://www.chiangmai...listofsponsors/

These sponsors don't do "pitches" at the meetings and aren't mentioned, besides a generic reminder encouraging people to consider patronizing the sponsors. Their names are posted on the front wall and they have the ability to place brochures and other information on a table outside the meeting room. One of the sponsors has a person staffing a table to do one-on-one consulations about questions relating to visas. Sripat Hospital, while technically not listed as a sponsor, almost always has a table outside the meeting room staffed with several nurses who conduct blood pressure and BMI checks at no charge. Several times a year, they come with discounted flu shots, too. You can walk right by the tables of information and services, without being stopped, on your way to picking up your coffee, tea and snack and going into the meeting room.

Sometimes sponsors write articles for the newsletter, but the editors will consider articles from any member, not just sponsors. I don't think they're overwhelmed with submissions and are calling on the sponsors to help supply editorial content of value to expats. The newsletter is free and available at several venues around town, plus on-line.

To me, one of the best things about the Expats Club are the OGAs -- outside group activities. These smaller groups are lead by people with little or no commercial interest in the activity of the group. Most OGA leaders are simply passionate about a hobby and want to organize activities for others who enjoy the same activities. Some of the groups meet weekly (or more often, in the case of the bridge club), some meet once or twice a month. Usually about 15 - 30 people attend these smaller OGA meetings and it's a great way to make friends among people with interests similar to yours. Here is a list of the OGAs.

http://www.chiangmai...oup-activities/

Why not come to a meeting of the Expats Club and judge for yourself?