Cedars Cancer Foundation goes beyond
The thing about successful people is they’re persistent. They’ll stop at nothing to move important agendas forward. Exhibit A: Cedars Cancer Foundation president/CEO Jeff Shamie and CanSupport founder Gwendolyn Andrews Nacos, who both reached out to me approximately 10 months prior to their big (correction: HUGE) Cedars Cancer Foundation 50th-anniversary “Go Beyond” Ball.
Admittedly, I giggled a bit, noting to Jeff that in Social Notes time, that was a decade! In all seriousness, though, the seeds of fabulousness and enormity were planted and I did mark the coming event on my personal calendar.
Fast forward to Nov. 10, and I’m so glad I did. The extraordinary organizing team — headed by aforementioned superhuman Gwen (with Tom), treasured Cedars board member Diana Ferrara Scalia (with Sam) and McGill University Health Centre Cancer Care Mission chief Dr. Armen Aprikian — pulled out all the stops, creating an anniversary event at Arsenal that was truly magical.
How magical? Let me count the ways:
First off, the devil was nowhere to be found in this eve’s details. In fact, the opposite held true: every aspect reflected meticulous co-ordination and attention to greatness on the part of the planning pack, from the gastronomic feast prepared by team Olivier Perret, a cancer survivor himself and executive chef of Le Renoir at the Sofitel Carré Doré, to the powerful feature film produced by Heidi Berger with an original score performed live by awardwinning pianists, to the inescapably good beats of legendary Paul Chacra and his 1945 Band, to the sweetest sweet table paired with an invigorating Nespresso station.
But my friends, the magic was bigger than that — you could feel the spirit of the room. It was visceral. One and all were united in their love of Cedars and the remarkable work they’ve done for cancer research and cancer support over the last 50 years — including, of course, Sarah’s Fund, the pediatric arm of the foundation. It also marked an important milestone in 2016: its 15th anniversary.
As for “one and all,” while it would be close to impossible to name every bold-faceable attendee in the sea of 700-plus, we would be remiss if we didn’t share at least a representative sample, so here goes: board chair Bruce Shadeed and Suzanne; capital campaign co-chair Andrew Lutfy; founder Shirley Chamandy; Nadine Chamandy; incoming board chair Mark Saykaly and Louise; Cookie and Larry Rossy; Phyllis and John Rae; foundation vice-president of development Ariel DayanMedalsy; Chantal and Greg Chamandy; Demo Trifonopoulos and Evelyn Tetenes; Lilian Vineberg and Morris Goodman; Cathy and Franco Monticciolo; Maria and Marco Iacampo; Rosa and Sam Musto; Daniela and Frank Cristiano; board members like Bruno Ciolfi, Douglas Ajram, Michael Newton, Joseph Cheaib, Christina Ayoub Miller, Andy Chelminski, Alexia and Anthony Calvillo, Dr. Roger Tabah, Lorena and Norman Cook, Lisa Chamandy, and Andrew Carter; Roshi and the honourable Baljit Chadha; Peter Abraham; Alice and Jonathan Goldbloom; Holt Renfrew’s Normand Ciarlo; Ogilvy’s Steeve Lapierre; Angela and Carlo Bizotto; Diana and Tony Miceli; Deep Khosla; Adam Turner; Alida and Brian Rossy; Maria and Jonathan Birks; MUHC board chair Claudio Bussandri; MUHC interim president/CEO Martine Alphonso; Dr. Tarek Hijal; Dr. Manuel Borod; Dr. Peter Metrakos and Amalia; Dr. David Fleiszer and Dr. Ruth Russell; Dr. Sarkis Meterissian and Marcelle Lavoie; Linda Shaw and Frank Motter; Mary and Frank Rana; Nicole Zreik and Joseph Eid; Pota and Chiko Nanji; Yola and Theo Kersheh; Christiane Kaprielian and Arden Dervishian, and so. Many. More.
Thanks to the magic, and invaluable support, a staggeringly impressive $5.3 million was raised for the new Cedars Oncology Supportive Care Centre as well as for teaching and research. Bravo and cheers to the next 50!