SKÅL LONDON NEWS Tony BoyleTont Boyle elected President Skal International during the General Assembly at the Sydney Convention &Exhibition Centre, Sydney, Australia on 9th October. Tony is the first Skalleague to be elected as President of Skal International in his home country for more than 40 years. Tony Boyle has been self-employed all his working life, opening his first travel agency in Melbourne with partners in 1978. After obtaining airplane and helicopter pilot licenses he established and operated various companies including a video software distribution company and a national freight company. In 1988, Tony established a travel agency and subsequently an internet business and an Avis Car Hire Agency in Townsville which he currently owns and operates in partnership with his wife Anne.Tony has held numerous travel industry positions including the position of North Queensland Representative of the Australian Federation of Travel Agents Queensland Chapter and was Chairman of Jetset’s National Association of Independent Travel Agents Council. He has also been the recipient of a number of tourism industry awards including the Australian Federation of Travel Agents Awards, Best International Travel Consultant, Best Regional Travel Agency, outstanding contribution to Travel Agency Business, and the 2007 winner of the Small Business Champion Awards, Queensland Entrepreneur of the Year. Tony Boyle joined Skål in 1991.  JIM POWERThe Skål International secretary general, Mr. Jim Power, has died, according to sources close to him. The tourism luminary is said to have died in his sleep at his home in Torremolinos, Spain on Saturday, June 12, 2010. The news comes as shock to many travel and tourism stakeholders as the late Mr. Power is one of the industry’s highly regarded individuals. He was frequently seen in many industry events such as the ITB in Berlin and World Travel Market in London, as well as many of Skål events held in many parts of the world. The late Mr. Power was recently in Sydney on June 9, 2010 to attend the golden anniversary luncheon of Skål International. The event was held at Four Points by Sheraton Darling Harbour to commemorate 50 years since the club was first founded. 160 Skålleagues and their guests participated in the celebrations. Sources say that he had become ill after his return from Sydney and had called in sick on Thursday. His staff did not hear from him for the remainder of the week, so they decided to check on him on Saturday when he was found dead.Born on June 23, 1949, the late Mr. Power attended Bridgetown College from 1962 to 1965. He was never married and had no children. The funeral of Jim Power The body will be flown back to Dublin on Friday, 18th June and will be transferred to Wexford. On Saturday his body will lie in rest at the funeral parlour for people who may wish to pay their respects before it is transferred at 1800 hrs to the church at Kilmore. Mass and burial service will take place on Sunday 20th at 1400 hrs at Kilmore Church. Kilmore is situated 14 miles from Wexford and approx 12 miles from Rosslare where the ferry arrives from Fishguard or Pembroke. Flowers will be accepted at the church, details of donations will follow within the next few days. Dear Skålleagues. The previous night over 200 gathered at the church for the arrival of the coffin to lie in the church overnight. After the service on the Sunday a guard of honour, was formed by Skålleagues, as the coffin was transferred from the Church to the hearse and then as an escort to the Cemetery. The Guard of Honour was led by Nic Racic the International President and there were representatives from USA, Australia, Denmark, Switzerland, Hungary, Croatia, Germany, Norway, Nigeria, France, Southern and Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and Spain. Nic gave a very fitting speech and it is hoped that all the speeches will be featured in a forthcoming Skål News The family have asked that there grateful thanks be passed to all those who have sent messages of condolence and the Priest also during his address mentioned messages which have appeared on facebook. A very moving service, which will be remembered for many years to come. Emails have been circulating about donations in memory of Jim and I believe the executive will advise in due course an appropriate fund. If in the meantime if you wish to send a donation you can send it to Torremolinos and I am sure that Yvonne will make sure that it is allocated to the correct place. Yvonne Mansell has been asked to take over Jim’s duties for the time being and Daniel will take over complete control of the Congress. Yours in Skål Task Force report on the repositioning of Skål Dear Skålleagues, We need your comments! Please click HERE for the most recent update of the Task Force document on the repositioning of Skål, dated 24 May 2010. The document was presented to the meeting of the International Skål Council held in Quebec on 3 May 2010. The Executive Committee of Skål International discussed the document during its meeting held in Quebec on 5 May 2010. The Executive Committee decided, before making any comment on the document to consult the membership as the document contained some major changes for the future of the organisation. The Executive Committee therefore requests that the Clubs and it's members ( THAT'S YOU! ) worldwide discuss this document at length prior to it's deadline 16th July and to send their comments to Skal London Secretary, Paul Follows, Email: Paul.Follows@btinternet.com This is an important document for the future of Skål, we would ask you to give it your urgent attention and we look forward to receiving your comments by the deadline above. 
Skal global president Nik Racic gives 20,000 euros to SOS Children's Villages in Haiti! On the occasion of IMEX, the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings, and events - in Frankfurt am Main, Nik Racic (Croatia), global president of the Skal International e. V. global tourism network, will be presenting a check in the amount of 20,000 euros to the SOS Children's Villages on the Caribbean island of Haiti. This amount was collected in response to a request for donations that the executive committee sent to members, and Skal wants to use it to make a contribution towards alleviating need in the disaster area. The check will be presented on Thursday, May 27, 2010, at 7:00 pm at the Hotel InterContinental Frankfurt, Wilhelm-Leuschner-Strasse 43. Besides global president Nik Racic, the ceremony will be attended by director Karine Coulanges (France) from the executive committee; Bend Hadler (Denmark), who is president of the International Council; Thomas Aurich, the German president; and Skal general secretary Jim Power (Spain). By supporting the SOS Children's Villages in Haiti, once again Skal members are channeling their social responsibility commitment by making an effort to help children. For several years, the tourism professionals, hoteliers, and transportation experts have already been supporting ECPAT, the children's protection organization that takes action against sexual abuse of children in countries that are travel destinations. 
The work of the SOS Children's Villages in Haiti began in the year 1979. At present, there are two SOS children's villages and two SOS facilities for adolescents, two vocational training centers, and two schools, as well as 4 SOS social centers on the island. The SOS children's village of Santo was built in 1984, about twelve kilometers from Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti. It consists of 19 family houses with space to accommodate 190 children, a community building, a building for the village director, a building for the SOS aunts, and a small medical ward. 
After the Second World War, the Austrian Hermann Gmeiner (1919-1986) founded the SOS Children's Villages where orphaned children could grow up in family-like living setting. Up to the present, children's villages have been created in 42 countries on four continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, and America) as a result of his idea. |
ContactGeneral information and enquiries contact: Paul Follows, Secretary32 Rochester Way Crowborough East Sussex TN6 2DT Telephone: 01892 - 661 532 Email: Paul.Follows@btinternet.com  If you cannot view the PDF file - the newsletters, you will need to install Adobe Acrobate Reader Click HERE to download and install Adobe Reader now. The reader is free of charge and very easy to install |