Philanthropist gives away $170K at 007-themed event
Frank Flaman gave away $170,000 to 16 charities Friday night at his annual foundation gala before announcing he planned to donate $1.5 million this year to help the sick and vulnerable at home and overseas.
“If someone fell over outside my door, I would help them,” said the former farm boy from Southey, Sask.
“By the same token, if there is someone in the world with health problems and lacking basic medical care or hasn’t the basic necessities of life, we should help them. It irks me that so many do well in life and yet help so little. If you make $2 million in a year, give $1 million to help people in dire straits at home and around the world.”
James Bond was the theme of the gala, held at West Edmonton Mall’s Fantasyland ballroom, and in a tux and bow tie, Flaman, 83, looked every inch the dapper secret agent.
Some 400 guests sipped martinis (shaken not stirred) before taking it in turn to thank Flaman and his wife, Ruby, for their generosity, before dancing the night away.
It was something of a gamble nearly 60 years ago that set Flaman off on the track that led to the Flaman Group of Companies — today operating 10 fully owned retail locations, 47 fitness stores, 100 rental dealerships and employing more than 330 people.
“I went to buy a grain bin and found there was a very significant reduction in cost if I bought a container load,” he said. “After that, I always dealt in bulk in bins and farming supplies and sold to other farmers.”
His company prospered and today stretches from B.C. through the Prairies to Ontario.
Flaman, who says he is not religious, began sharing his success with countless charities and in 2005, established the Frank J. Flaman Foundation.
“In the first two years alone, Frank brought aid to thousands worldwide,” says his general manager, Rocky Amson. “Eleven years ago and for eight years, we donated $1 million to charity. Then, for four years it was $1.2 million and now Frank has raised the bar to $1.5 million.”
The foundation is funded by Flaman’s share of the profits from his companies, as well as private donations from others.
The list of organizations that have benefited from Flaman’s generosity is too long to print here.
But in recent years, he has helped 10,000 individuals in the developing world have their eyesight restored through Operation Eye Sight; assisted the Mennonite Central Committee to ensure thousands have sustainable food resources, adequate housing and education; and has helped Room to Read transform the lives of millions of children around the world by helping literacy and gender equality campaigns.
“We only pass through this life once and any good we can do for others isn’t an option,” says Flaman, who chooses to live in a condo and drive a modest car. “We must help the less fortunate.”
HAPPY NOVRUZ
There were folk tunes, a feast and traditional dances Saturday night when 200 guests celebrated the commencement of spring with Edmonton’s Azerbaijan Cultural Society.
“Spring, as a New Year, is amongst the oldest and the most universally celebrated festivals in the world, with many marking it as the arrival of spring rains and the renewal of nature,” says society president Fatima Mammadova.
“The United Nations says Novruz is celebrated on the first day of spring by more than 300 million people around the world, and traditions and festivities have been observed for more than 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions.”
An Azerbaijani Novruz game we didn’t try in the Fantasyland ballroom was jumping over bonfires to take away the pain, hardship and distress of the last year. But our egg tapping contest had everyone involved. Each guest was given a coloured, hardboiled egg and tapped it against others eggs at their table. Those with eggs not cracked went into centre stage playoffs.
WAR DEAD REMEMBERED
There was a lump-in-thethroat moment Saturday at the Turkish Canadian Society’s westend headquarters when preschoolers joined others to sing in commemoration of the 253,000 Turkish soldiers lost during the First World War’s Gallipoli campaign.
Saturday was the 102nd anniversary of the Turks repelling the British fleet in the Dardanelles.
The battle was one of the greatest Ottoman victories and is regarded in Turkey as a defining moment in the nation’s history.
“The children sang a sad song about a teen leaving his mother and going to war,” said Merve Nur Demir, who helped organize the event.
“The victory helped keep the country from being divided and led several years later to the declaration of the Republic of Turkey. That’s why today we can call ourselves Turkish Canadians.”
Turkish MP Cahit Ozkan, on a Canadian tour, dropped by and told the gathering he was pleased to see traditions being kept alive.
A poignant image on the wall was of a Turkish soldier carrying an Australian soldier during the Dardanelles conflict.