World's largest 4x4 Dealer - Soni Motors Thailand - hosts Christmas barbecue for its poor neighbors

PRLog (Press Release) – Dec 23, 2007 – Soni Motors - Thailand's largest Toyota Vigo Exporter - hosts a Christmas and Eid party for its neighbors
Contact:Sam Quraishi
Mobile:+66.86.677.5701
Email:sonivigo@gmail.com

Soni Motors Thailand – Thailand’s Oldest and Largest Auto Exporter – hosts a Christmas-Eid barbecue and picnic for 100 poor families in its neighborhood

Summary:World’s largest exporter of diesel 4x4 pickups and SUVs as Toyota Hilux Vigo, Mitsubishi L200 Triton and Nissan Navara – the Soni Group – organized a picnic and barbecue for 100 families in its neighborhood for the 15^th consecutive year. Families were taken to a famous waterfall outside Bangkok. Team Soni volunteers organized games for children and snacks and meals were served as families enjoyed sitting in the water.

Bangkok, Thailand–Soni Motors Thailand (http://www.sonirodban.com/) – world’s largest exporter of diesel 4x2 and 4x4 vehicles as Toyota Hilux Vigo, Toyota Fortuner, Mitsubishi L200 Triton, Nissan Navara, Isuzu DMax, Chevy Colorado and Ford Ranger among others to 100 countries in the world – organized a picnic for 100 poor families in its neighborhood. The participants were taken to a famous waterfall a few miles from Bangkok by buses. Food was plentiful. Snacks were served right away and then when the Soni volunteers started the barbecues food was served non-stop till the end of the event. As families were sitting in the water or by the grass in a large area, 20 waitresses served food and drinks all over the picnic area.

The event, which has been running for the past fifteen years, aims to make the festive season as happy a time as possible for poor families, especially those who would otherwise feel out of touch with the seasonal celebrations. Team Soni was there in full force attending to every little detail led by Mr. Soni and Mr. Jim Quraishi. This event also brought together Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims of the neighborhood together in one place. The event started with children games followed by prize ceremony for the winner. Then some Christian participants sang carol and once that was complete, Muslims sang nasheed. Participants of all faiths sang carols and nasheeds along with the singers. Singing went alone late in the afternoon. Mr. Soni and Jim Quraishi thanked the participants and the proceedings came to an end at 5 pm. Team Soni was joined by volunteers from the neighborhood as they cleaned up the picnic area "to leave it better than we found it"directive from Mr. Soni.

Sam Quraishi commented, "It is wonderful to see people of such diverse faiths come together as one to enjoy the day with their families. This is a fulfillment of our great grandfather’s vision. He practiced multi-multiculturalism long before the word was coined. When he established Asia’s first auto dealership outside Japan in 1911, people moved in their own cultural circles and employed only people of their faith in their companies, Quraishi Sr. hired the most qualified candidate irrespective of his race, color religion or sect. He employed Hindus, Sikhs, Jain, Christians and Muslims and celebrated their holidays as his own. It was in this spirit Mr. Soni started this annual picnic. The first picnic 15 years ago was a small affair and was a disaster: the bus broke down, then the barbecue won’t start, then there was a heavy rain and children of the guests had a fight but in the end it worked out and we learned from our mistakes and the success of this year’s picnic despite the unprecedented attendance is a testament to Mr. Soni’s organizational skills and charisma."

Executives of other divisions of the Soni Group of Companies (http://www.sonimotorsthailand.com/) namely Bloomstar Thailand (http://www.thailand4x4.com/), Yasir Trading (http://www.jimsoni.com/) and Soni Manufacturing Division ([a href="http://www.sonimotors.net/"]http://www.sonimotors.net/[/a]) also expressed their admiration for the smooth running of the picnic and the bridging of cultural and religious gaps it accomplished.

Soni Quraishi commented, "I’m very grateful to Team Soni for their weeklong preparations to make this a success and their performance today to keep everything going like clockwork. I was so happy to see the children and their parents have so much fun. We have a moral duty to reach out to the have-nots in our community. It is priceless to see the huge smiles on our neighbors’ faces when they are having fun enjoying good plentiful food and games. I salute all Team Soni volunteers for taking time off from their busy schedules to bring festive cheer and a smile to our neighbors. This is the true spirit of Christmas and Eid."

Jim Quraishi added, "I’m delighted to see people of so many different faiths mingling with each other, chatting, eating together, playing together and just having a good time. It was heartening to see how Buddhist and Christian neighbors help their Muslim neighbors layout their mats and sheets so they may be able to pray the three prayers during the day. Our founder had a vision that one day people of all faiths will come together as beads of a rosary and it brings tears to my eyes to see that realized today. If there were only more tolerance, understanding and appreciation of each others’ differences, we will have a different world."

Sunny Quraishi commented, "We have a proud 96 years history of philanthropy and have always shared our good fortune with family, friends, neighbors and the needy in whichever community we have worked in. We have always shared 5% of our profits to charitable causes and have recently committed 2% of our profits to environmental causes in honor of Al Gore. This great annual gathering is the most touching as it brings the best out of Team Soni as they work tirelessly for close to two months to bring happiness to so many people this day."

Participants were brought back to Prawet headquarters for evening tea. Adults were given t-shirts, caps and a raffle was held for some gifts. Santa Claus, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Soni, made a special appearance and gave out clothes, toys, books and a gift card for new shoes among all the children. Participants thanked Mr. Soni and Mr. Jim Quraishi and then gradually began filing out but the majority hung out chatting with each other and learning from each other and a few people even exchanged numbers. It was heartening to see how this annual event manages to bring people of different faiths closer to each other. People hung around well after dark sipping on soft drinks courtesy of Soni Motors.

About Soni
The Soni Group of Companies (http://www.sonimotorsthailand.com) is Thailand’s largest and oldest auto exporting group and commands a whopping 80-90% share of the automotive exporting market. Soni is owned and operated by the Quraishi Family which is considered Asia’s First Family of automotive Retailing and has been in automotive business since 1911. Soni has an enviable track record of leading the industry thanks to its century-old commitment to customer service, honesty, integrity, professionalism, quality and low price. For more information please email Soni at [a href="mailto:sonivigo@gmail.com"]sonivigo@gmail.com[/a] or visit [a href="http://www.sonirodban.com/"]http://www.sonirodban.com/[/a].