[Coolhand]

I am moved and touched personally by the drama and the trauma of my friends, wherever they are in the world. I have spent many holidays in this great island. I have so many close friends there. I love Phuket and its people so much. How could I not feel the deepest sympathy?
The terrible news has come to us when many of us are celebrating the birth of Christ, a time of festivity, and this has made the tragedy more deeply felt. I am pleased by the reactions of the board members. Amidst the sorrow and pain, one after another you have said in short that this tragedy is reinforcing their will to return to Phuket. In such a dramatic moment, this was for me a moving lesson, the Board at its best, a profoundly caring and human Board!
To experience this must have been an additional trauma for the Thai people. After all of the recent events that have blighted their livelihoods, this single event has put all of the others into the shade, by comparison.
I grieve for all the people who died on that tragic day. I share the pain of all the people who lost a family member or a friend. The best way to pay our tribute to them will be our renewed determination to do whatever we can to help re-build the spirit of Phuket into the beautiful, fun-loving holiday destination it once was.