GIVING TREES

CHEO benefit sets record

It was a tree-mendous night at the Fairmont Château Laurier on Monday as supporters of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario came together in the hotel’s beautiful ballroom for the 17th-annual Trees of Hope for CHEO. A record $75,000 was raised and 33 trees sponsored and decorated by corporations, small businesses and community organizations in support of sick children living in our region. The organizing committee was led by Deneen Perrin, director of public relations at the Château Laurier. Hotel GM Claude Sauvé was present with his wife, Deborah. She was a judge with hospital president and CEO Alex Munter and other volunteers in the tree-decorating contest (the winners were KPMG and Shaw Centre). The festive evening featured 200 silent-auction items along with a draw for Air Canada tickets and a $1,000 gift certificate from Jubilee Fine Jewellers. You can drop into the hotel over the holidays to vote on your favourite tree and make a donation to CHEO.

ZED TO HEAD NAC GALA

Gary Zed, a philanthropic fixture on the social scene, is picking up the baton to lead the NAC Gala committee, it was announced at Wednesday’s gathering at the home of National Arts Centre Foundation CEO Jayne Watson. “I’m really excited because we want this to be the biggest and best yet,” Zed, senior partner at EY and a member of the NAC Foundation board, told Around Town at the reception attended by NAC Gala honorary chair Laureen Harper. Carol Devenny, of PwC, who chaired the last two galas, was in T.O. collecting her award as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women from the Women’s Executive Network. The gala in October netted its second-highest amount of $940,000 (the $917,000 announced by Harper on stage excluded the live-auction funds). Proceeds go to the NAC’s National Youth and Education Trust that supports the development of young Canadian performers.

A DREAM COME TRUE FOR ANTOSHIN

What a coincidence that the clock, as if cued for celebration, began playing the Westminster Chimes just as the Ottawa Chamber Music Society’s new executive director, Maxim Antoshin, prepared to address guests at a reception held Thursday in his honour. The gathering was hosted by Ontario Arts Council board member Harvey Slack at his condo with Kun Shoulder Rest president Marina Kun to introduce Antoshin to the community. “I know that you will embrace him and welcome him into our cultural family,” Slack said. The OCMS puts on concerts and plans the summer Chamber-Fest, the largest chamber music festival in the world. “I wanted to be part of this organization for a long time, and I can say now that I’m living a dream that has come true,” Antoshin told the room.

UNDER THE B, BLACK TIE

I-2 had my doubts but the inaugural Black Tie Bingo was a great success, raising $50,000 for people living in long-term and palliative care. The evening, held at the Westin hotel, drew 300 people for a gala that featured bingo. Prizes were a new television, a St. Laurent Centre shopping spree, a corporate box for a Sens game, a Via Rail cross-Canada trip and a stay at an Italian villa from Oriana Trombetti, with flights from Swiss International Air Lines. Funds go to the Eldercare Foundation of Ottawa, which helps improve the quality of life for seniors in long-term care, and the OutCare Foundation, which supports palliative care in the region.

For more coverage, check online at ottawacitizen.com carolyn001@ sympatico.ca

PHOTOS: CAROLINE PHILLIPS/ OTTAWA CITIZEN Alex Munter, CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, second from right, pauses for a photo Monday at the Trees of Hope, a fundraiser for CHEO, with organizer Deneen Perrin and her children, Sophia Michel, 14, and Alex Michel, 10, who is also...

From left, National Arts Centre Foundation CEO Jayne Watson with the NAC Gala committee’s new chair, Gary Zed, and its honorary chair, Laureen Harper, at a reception for NAC Gala organizers.

From left, OutCare Foundation chair John Bradley and executive director Lisa Davey with Catherine Clark and Adam Nihmey, president of the Eldercare Foundation of Ottawa, at the Blacktie Bingo charity event.

From left, Maxim Antoshin, executive director of the Ottawa Chamber Music Society, at a reception hosted by Marina Kun and Harvey Slack at Slack’s home to introduce and welcome Antoshin to Ottawa.

Fairmont Château Laurier hotel general manager Claude Sauvé with his wife, Deborah, at the Trees of Hope for CHEO event, held at the hotel on Monday,

From left, NAC president and CEO Peter Herrndorf with retired hightech chief executive Jozef Straus at a reception with organizers and supporters of the recent NAC Gala.

Jessica Linnebach of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and her husband, concertmaster Yosuke Kawasaki, at a reception for organizers and supporters of the NAC Gala.