the link Pioneers December 1997First of all, my congratulations to allof you for keeping us informed about“Les Roches” and its students. I willjust tell you very quickly aboutmyself.I am Alberto Volkers and I was one ofthe 70 students who “opened” theschool in 1980. I graduated in Sum’83and after that I travelled world wideworking in the hotel and tourism business.I settled down in Sweden in1988, and in 1993, I opened my firstMexican restaurant in the city of Snasvall(350 kms. North of Stockholm).In 1995, I opened my second restaurant.I have to say that although theeconomy in Sweden is not all thatgreat, our business is surviving well.Estimado EditorA couple of years back, I was invitedby Mr Marcel Clivaz to attend theLes Roches 40th AnniversaryReunion. Much to my surprise, Ifound that I was the only one fromthe group that graduated in 1983. Iwas told that the addresses had beenlost in the fire of 1985. I might yetdecide to settle in the south of Franceor Spain, but nothing is definite andin the meantime my address is Bergsgatan91 C, 852 336 Sundsvall,Sweden.Tel:0045 60 1297 80 Fax .0045 60 128007. I am very pleasedto know that something is beingdone to keep the Alumni togetherand I hope that I will soon be intouch with my classmates.Best wishes, Alberto.Susanne, Alexander and AlbertoAlexander I. Melas (Sum. ’83) withhis wife Cheryl Lesley Williams(Sum. ’84) and their little son, Stefano-Ioanni,2 1 /2 years, have just movedto Holland. They were delighted tohear about “the link” and are planninga visit to Bluche in 1998. They keep intouch with Paul Poort (same batch)and Anthony Thomas (one batchlater), both of them from Holland.Alex’s address is Gaffel 1, 6026 DJMaarheeze, The Netherlands.Martin van Kan (Win. ’84)found us on what he calls “theyahoo search engine”. Over theyears Martin has been with InterContinental in London, AbuDhabi and Muscat. He did a spellwith Meridien in Jakarta, Melbourneand Baan Boran. Now heis with Hyatt Regency in Surabaya.Martin, his wife and 2 1 /2year old son were recently inLondon on vacation. He tells usthat Brian (drive the schooltractor in any Grand Prix!)Pirie is General Manager withMeridien in Jakarta. Mr Lavarini,our representative, met Martinquite by chance on a recent tourin Indonesia.Reginald Pereira’83 is Director,School of Tourism and HospitalityManagement in Kuala Lumpur.Janet Tang ’83 is Head of Marketingand Corporate Training at theFlamingo Institute of Further Education,SelangorHelen Lim announces the birth ofher third child - a little daughter -Zara. Congratulations!Michael P.K. Tan directs BusinessDevelopment for Swisscorp(M) SDN BHD in Kuala LumpurHelloLes Roches,My name is Lionel Chee, graduatedin 1983 Summerbatch. Presently I run my ownrestaurant and catering company.While browsing on theweb, I thought I’d drop a lineto my former School. Youcontact me via E-mail if youneed anything from the SingaporeAlumni. Merci et à bientôt,Lionel CheeMs Joanna Phang Lee Im’85. Deputy Head of HospitalityManagement SchoolINTEC COLLEGE Penangand Arthur Chin ’83 Managerof Mingood Hotel, Penangsend their best wishes toeveryone.New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. USAMission StatementThe New England Association ofSchools and Colleges serves thepublic and the educational communityby establishing and maintaininghigh standards of educational excellencethrough self-evaluation andpeer review. Schools and collegeswhich demonstrate that they meetthose standards are accredited andthus become members of the Association.One of the six regional accreditingassociations in the United States, theNew England Association is committedto the self-regulation of theacademic community by means ofeffective peer review. Through itsseveral commissions, each comprisinga distinct segment of the educationalinstitutions, the Associationdevelops, makes public, and appliesclearly stated standards for theassessment of educational effectiveness.Through its process of assessment,particularly as it focuses oninstitutional self-evaluation and selfimprovement,the Associationencourages and assists in improvingthe effectiveness of affiliated institutions.In this way, public assurance isprovided as to the quality of institutionsgranted membership.While initially devoting exclusiveattention to New England schools andcolleges, in recent years the Association,recognising the interconnectednessof the educational enterprise, hasalso sought to serve educational institutionsabroad, particularly at the K -12 level. In doing so, it not onlyencourages their improvement andexcellence, but also advances the ideaof self-regulation through peer reviewin regions outside the United States.Among educational organisations,the New England Association uniquelycomprises both schools andcolleges. Its structure and activitiesreflect its perception of and commitmentto the unity of education in themany levels and forms representedby the membership of the Association.The New England Association is anadvocate of educational quality andits improvement, and serves as apublic policy resource on issues relatedto the condition of educationthroughout New England. It likewiseseeks to sustain and advance the principlesof self-regulation and peerreview.Adopted May 18, 1995Board of Trustees Meeting.2
the link Valais December 1997Béatrice Clivaz, elder daughter ofMarguerite and Marcel Clivaz gotmarried to Joseph Zumofen, architect,on August 9. They receivedtheir guests for a garden receptionbeside the Les Roches swimmingpool.This was followed by a sumptuousbanquet prepared by theschool Chefs and students. The bridalcouple wish to thank everyonewho contributed to making it a mostmemorable day.Just MarriedEmilie Hummel-SmithEmilie Hummel-Smith also gotmarried recently. She gave us thisnews when she paid a visit to theSchool in October. She is workingin the Renaissance Hotel Zurich, atthe Reception.Béatrice Clivaz and Joseph ZumofenThe FunnycarSince the inaugural run of the familiar,old funicular, back in 1911, ithas put in 30,210 days of service.That means that it has trundled upand down the mountain over a distanceof approximately 2,300,000kilometres! Over the years, theactual cars were changed severalAt top speed just above Bluche(Photo: Claude Roh)times. However, right up to the lastday, the original chassis was stillbeing used!Now the S.M.C. has invested overSFr 13,000,000 in ultra-modernequipment to prepare the funicularfor the next millennium. Part of theinvestment was for new wagonswhich will run on a single line. Themidway station at St Maurice hasdisappeared.The modern cars have a capacity of120 passengers, and have a speedwhich is a crazy 8 metres per second(30 k.p.h.), i.e. double what it used tobe! The time taken for the Sierre-Montana run is now 13 minutes insteadof 35! That is just as quick asdriving up really fast by car.It also means that because the trainis so rapid, the Editor will not beable to achieve his secret ambition,i.e. to hi-jack the funicular!!De Taiwanaux RochesIt’s a small world...Barbara Leung and Mr. Eric FavreA la pâtisserie, nos visiteurss’initient à l’art des baguettes...Novembre 1997 - Dans le cadred’un voyage en Europe, en vued’analyser les opportunités de formationet de perfectionnement, plusde 200 étudiants de l’universitéKaohsiung Hospitality College deTaiwan ont récemment passé parBluche pour visiter la Swiss HotelAssociation Hotel ManagementSchool Les Roches (la seule écolehôtelière visitée en Suisse). Les étudiantsétaient accompagnés duGeneral Captain Chiang TungPan, directeur des services decarrière et placement, ainsi qued’autres personnalités.Répartis en plusieurs groupes, lesjeunes ont pu découvrir l’école etses diverses possibilités.Chaque groupe avait pour guideun(e) étudiant(e) taiwanais(e) ducours de 4ème année des Roches(Bachelor of Science).It was once again one of those“It’s a small world” moments.The scene was this year’s March’97 ITB Exhibition in Berlin.Mr Favre ran across BarbaraLeung (1980-83). Barbara wasattending the Fair in her capacityas Accor’s Indonesian Marketingrepresentative. She sendsher best wishes to everyone.3