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| Luck Be a Lady Tonight. Brampton
Board of Trade President Linda Ford is flanked by
BBOT Events Coordinator Mary Ann Eddy, left and
Gala Chair Lori Robinson as they get ready for Viva!
Las Vegas on April 11, the annual BBOT President’s
Gala. |
Get ready for a spectacular evening of great food and
entertainment says Chair Lori Robinson. “We have a great
line-up including Vegas-style entertainment. And we
have chips by the hundreds for people who want to try
a game of chance, for fun of course.” >click here
to read on
The evening includes dinner and dance to the sounds
of Lost Vegas as well as Brampton’s largest Silent Auction.
Mo D, one of Canada’s newest media personalities, will
MC for the evening and orchestrate the Live Auction.
“We have a special guest booked for the night, but
we are not saying who it is because we want it to be
a surprise. And what would a Vegas show be without costumes
and dancing,” says Robinson.
RBC Royal Bank is the title sponsor. Entertainment
is sponsored by Bell and Ken Hay Photography will provide
a complimentary photo of attending guests. The complimentary
Martini Bar, always a star attraction is provided courtesy
of The Staffing Edge and Jake’s Boathouse. Event management
services have been provided by Brampton Board of Trade
member Élan Cachet.
Tickets are $125 a person and are available online
at www.bramptonbot.com. Reservations made before March
21 are eligible for an early bird draw that includes
a tuxedo rental from Tuxedo Royale, a gentlemen or ladies
hairstyle and makeover from Salon Spa One Eleven, a
limousine ride to and from the Gala from Bramalea Superb
Limousine Livery Service Inc. and a portrait from Ken
Hay Photography.
Viva Las Vegas will be staged at The Mississauga Convention
Centre, 75 Derry Road West. Prize donations for the
silent auction can be made by calling 905 451 1122.
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| BBOT President Linda
Ford presented Neil Davis with a plaque commemorating
his selection as Brampton’s 2007 Business Person
of the Year. In the foreground is a painting of
the Davis Family cottage situated on Georgian Bay.
Photos by Ken Hay Photography. |
Record crowd honours Neil Davis
as Business Person of the Year
Neil Davis and more than 700 of his closest friends
celebrated his selection as Brampton’s 2007 Business
Person of the Year on Feb. 21 at the Pearson Convention
Centre. It was the largest crowd since The Brampton
Board of Trade first started celebrating outstanding
business people in 1978.
Davis, a lawyer with Brampton’s oldest law firm Davis
Webb LLP, is the first lawyer selected for this award.
He had some fun with the fact that Lawrences LLP, the
second oldest law firm in Brampton, sponsored the event.
Ron Webb, Bob Nutbrown, Maria Britto and university
school chum Bill Sayers all paid tribute, touching on
different aspects of Davis’ life including university,
the law practice and community service.
Webb talked about Grandfather A. Grenville Davis, a
crown attorney in Peel for 33 years, founder of the
law firm in 1916, and a man who inspired future generations
of public service.
Master of Ceremonies and father, former Ontario Premier
Bill Davis, who is often referred to as Mr. Brampton
or Brampton Billy for promoting Brampton all over the
world, said he was proud of his son for what he has
done for Brampton.
Neil was praised for his community work and specifically
his work to resurrect downtown Brampton. “He has a positive
vision for our city,” said Nutbrown. “The importance
of community cannot be over-emphasized. Neil has led
the fight to have people understand that great cities
only exist with a strong central core consisting of
a vibrant downtown. This fight continues to this day,
and virtually every day Neil is called upon to speak
about the importance of having a strong downtown.”
Sayer said Davis had “passion and courage” even as a
university student, and that his “loyalty to Brampton
was lifelong.”
Britto, who nominated Neil for the award, spoke about
his significant contribution to community through work
at Sheridan, Peel Memorial Hospital, Brampton and Area
Community Foundation and in many other organizations.
“He has persevered and built his own legacy.”
BBOT president Linda Ford called Neil “a good friend”
who exemplifies outstanding leadership, success and
community service.
"I am honoured to be recognized for this prestigious
award," Davis told the crowd. "There have
been 29 past recipients, 28 of whom I have known personally,
and I am humbled to be included in their company."
“I was educated by so many of you. I learned that you
can be enormously successful in business while still
contributing significantly to your community and country."
He praised family members for their support and inspiration,
his mother Kathleen, his two children Christine and
Kathleen and his wife Ruth of 33 years, “my best friend,
who opened so many doors for me and inspired me to open
the odd one on my own.”
“My wife is no ordinary teacher nor ordinary person,
she is an educator not only of curriculum but of character,
who when you look back and say who made a difference
in your life comes to mind to both parents and students.”
He spoke with emotion about his father. Citing a Michael
Smith song, Davis said “it has been a remarkable and
privileged experience to take my father with me in whatever
I may have done and will ever do.”
His love for Brampton and his passion for its future
are his trademarks.
“When you live in a place you call home, you speak
out, more loudly than some would like at times, on what
matters most to this community. For our family this
town has been a real place, a human place, where people
work hard and family matters much, a special place that
showed its civility and decency to those who made it
home and can, if we do it right, be a reflection in
community form of what is and can be great about this
province and country.”
Please visit Ken Hay's website at www.kenhayphotographer.com
and click on the "button" on the homepage
to see the complete selection of photographs for the
event.
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