Liaison Newsletter > LIAISON Vol. 3, No. 4, July 1999 - Articles

« Return to Liaison Vol. 3, No. 4 Index

Toronto Gala was a Huge Success
By Elliott Spagat, Communications Officer, UNA-Canada

On Monday, June 21, over 300 people from across Canada converged on the Royal Ontario Museum to hear Ted Turner speak at UNA-Canada’s first gala dinner of 1999. The black-tie event was hosted by Edward S. (Ted) Rogers of Roger’s Communications and was attended by representatives of some of the most prestigious Canadian corporations, government officials, non-governmental organizations and individuals.

This gala was the largest and most successful that UNA-Canada has hosted in recent years. Special thanks go to Angus Archer, UNA-Canada’s Director of Development, Don Tanguay, a conference and meeting planning consultant and Ted Rogers, for their hard work and diligence. Their tireless efforts resulted in making the evening the success it was.

In her toast to the United Nations, Lt. Gov. of Ontario, Her Honour Hilary Weston compared the work of CNN (launched by Mr. Turner in the early 80s) to that of the UN, saying that both organizations have had huge impacts on the way people view the world around them.

Following her Honour's speech, the Honourable David Collenette, Minister of Transportation brought greetins on behalf of the federal government.

In his speech as guest of honour, Mr. Turner told the audience how he had started giving to charities. A charismatic speaker, Mr. Turner encouraged people to give as much as they could but to remember "to keep one or two hundred million back for themselves." He told of how the United Nations Foundation came into being and the difficulties he faced arranging to donate US$1 billion to the United Nations.

After his speech, Mr. Turner was presented with a UNA-Canada award of honour by Geoffrey Pearson, UNA-Canada's newly elected president.

UNA-Canada's next confirmed gala dinner will take place in Montreal in December..