Accusations of mismanagement of over hundred thousand baht were raised against the outgoing board of the Scandinavian Society Siam at the Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday 26 April 2011 at the Rembrandt Hotel in Bangkok.
When the accounts were presented for approval, 11 members voted for rejecting them while 10 members voted for accepting them with reservations. The reason for rejecting the accounts was that the outgoing board was not able to explain the loss incurred at the Crayfish Party held at the British Club in September 2010.
Outgoing treasurer Palle Borgselius had moved in the middle of the board year to work in China and was not able to participate in the meeting. In his place, Gregers Moller, who was elected Chairman of the meeting, presented the accounts. With income of 154.000 baht and expenses of 314.000 baht, the loss on the party was 160.000 baht. The poor income was according to the treasurer mostly because the participants had been able to go directly to their tables before paying their tickets as the rain started pouring down. Some expenses had also been paid out of the cash box before the collected amount was deposited in the bank. Two members of the outgoing board, Jesper Doepping and Erika Bjorklund, who had been involved with the party, were not present at the meeting and outgoing Chairman Soren Wettendorff was also not able to present more details related to the particular event.
The impasse threatened to abort the rest of the meeting because the candidate for the incoming board were reluctant to take over the stirred-up hornets nest. Eventually, the election proceeded with assurances from the assembled members that they would receive full support in carrying the Scandinavian Society Siam forward and they would in no way be involved in the clearing of the accounts of the past year.
Anita Falk was consequently presented as the candidate of the board for new Chairman of the Society and elected with a big round of applause from the members. No members of the outgoing board were up for reelection, so a complete new board was presented. They were Claus Gundersen, Robert Kronberg, Flemming Winther Nielsen and Vidar Starion. As substitutes for the bord, Johan Holmqvist and Par Hollertz were presented. Again an overwhelming and warm applause confirmed their election.
Auditor Eric Hallin, who had noted the need for additional information regarding the party loss in his auditor’s report, was re-elected as Auditor and Gregers Moller was re-elected his substitute.
Eventually, the meeting ended with a range of suggestions what activities the members would hope to see offered by the incoming board. The wishing list included a Crayfish Party, a Garden Party, an Annual Ball, a continued Bulletin, an active website – all the basic ingredienmts of a normal SSS year – plus of course a bicycle trip to Ayutthaya.
The bicycle trip is a proposal put forward by tradition every year. According to the legend, it was first proposed by the legendary Dr Einar Ammundsen. After him, Axel Blom, who last year resigned his membership of the SSS, carried forward the tradition. This year, the Ayutthaya trip was proposed by Jaana Kopra Madsen.
The Swedishy vicar Lovisa Moller took to the floor to address the need of a home for the former library of Scandinavian Society Siam. The books were given to the Church of Sweden fifteen years ago when the Church had a domicile in Bangkok. They were now packed in boxes, and the vicar hoped the new board would find a place where they could be put back on shelves where Scandinavians residing for instance outside Bangkok could borrow them and bring them back next time they were in town.
Finally, the liquor thought to have been lost, were brought back by past-past Chairman Eid Alexandersen, who could also add that she had learned from the wife of the new Danish Ambassador, that if the new board put in a request to use the Embassy compund for the SSS Christmas Bazaar this year, it would most likely be approved.
