NEWS FROM THE TEMPLES OF ANGKOR WAT SIEM REAP – In putting together “An Evening at Angkor with Jose Carreras”, Raffles International wanted to bring together two wonders – the Angkor Temples and the world famous tenor – for a good cause, said chairman and CEO Richard Helfer. He said that while every business has a responsibility to deliver on its bottomline, Raffles also believed in being a good corporate citizen and enriching local communities wherever it has hotels. In Cambodia, it operates the REACH programme for underprivileged children and preservation of the environment. Its Raffles training centre in Phnom Penh provides formal training for young Cambodians eager to make a career in hospitality. “One-and-a-half years and a lot of hard work have gone into making this event happen,” he said. “A lot of people have put heads, hands and hearts to achieve tonight’s crescendo. “The logistics have been overwhelming. More than 1,000 people have been involved – from setting up the stage to feeding 1,000 covers to lighting the more than 1,000 traditional torches in the West Entrance – lit manually by 100 staff of the Grand Hotel d’Angkor.” Last but not least, Helfer thanked Gilbert Madhavan, Raffles’ area general manager for Cambodia, for “being the inspiration and driving force behind this concert”.