It was a brush with royalty — from the hockey world — for Gregory Evanik, president of the Ottawa branch of the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS.)
Evanik was preparing for his organization’s big dinner on Tuesday at the Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata when he caught a brief and distracted glimpse of a passing stranger. He nodded politely in the man’s direction. “Somebody ran up behind me and said, ‘Did you see him? Did you see him? Did you say hello?’,” Evanik told a ballroom of 250 people gathered for the 27th Commonwealth Dinner. That stranger had been Sidney Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team was staying at Brookstreet while in Ottawa to play (and lose) against the Senators.
The dinner, which raised funds for Doctors Without Borders and the RCS Ottawa Commonwealth Education Fund, was co-chaired by retired physicist and sustainable technology expert Peter Meincke and major donor Krishan Gupta. The keynote speaker was Jason Kenney, minister for multiculturalism and national defence.
-
![From left, Sanjay Aggarwal with Mary de Toro from the Monarchist League and his brother, Jai Aggarwal, at the 27th Commonwealth Dinner on Tuesday, April 7, 2015, at the Brookstreet Hotel.]()
From left, Sanjay Aggarwal with Mary de Toro from the Monarchist League and his brother, Jai Aggarwal, at the 27th Commonwealth Dinner on Tuesday, April 7, 2015, at the Brookstreet Hotel.
-
![Yves Laberge, general manager of sponsor Star Motors, with his wife, Lynn, at the 27th Commonwealth Dinner on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.]()
Yves Laberge, general manager of sponsor Star Motors, with his wife, Lynn, at the 27th Commonwealth Dinner on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
-
![Gloucester-South Nepean Coun. Michael Qaqish with Inderpreet Singh, director of the Ottawa Indian Film Festival, at the 27th Commonwealth Dinner held at Brookstreet Hotel on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.]()
Gloucester-South Nepean Coun. Michael Qaqish with Inderpreet Singh, director of the Ottawa Indian Film Festival, at the 27th Commonwealth Dinner held at Brookstreet Hotel on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
-
![From left, Gregory Evanik, president of the Ottawa branch of the Royal Commonwealth Society, with former long-serving deputy minister Peter Harder and Peter Meincke, co-chair of the 27th Commonwealth Dinner held at Brookstreet Hotel on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.]()
From left, Gregory Evanik, president of the Ottawa branch of the Royal Commonwealth Society, with former long-serving deputy minister Peter Harder and Peter Meincke, co-chair of the 27th Commonwealth Dinner held at Brookstreet Hotel on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
-
![Event co-chair Peter Meincke and Sue Williams at the 27th Commonwealth dinner, hosted by the Ottawa branch of the Royal Commonwealth Society on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.]()
Event co-chair Peter Meincke and Sue Williams at the 27th Commonwealth dinner, hosted by the Ottawa branch of the Royal Commonwealth Society on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
-
![Krishan Gupta, seen with his wife and fellow donor, Shalini, co-chaired the Royal Commonwealth Society's Ottawa dinner, held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.]()
Krishan Gupta, seen with his wife and fellow donor, Shalini, co-chaired the Royal Commonwealth Society's Ottawa dinner, held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
-
![From left, Julie-Anne Labonte and Shantie Sirjoosingh were on the organizing committee for the 27th Commonwealth Dinner on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.]()
From left, Julie-Anne Labonte and Shantie Sirjoosingh were on the organizing committee for the 27th Commonwealth Dinner on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
-
![Keya Joseph with long-time Royal Commonwealth Society supporter Sir Charles Gunning at the 27th Commonwealth Dinner held on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.]()
Keya Joseph with long-time Royal Commonwealth Society supporter Sir Charles Gunning at the 27th Commonwealth Dinner held on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
-
![From left, keynote speaker and federal cabinet minister Jason Kenney with Gregory Evanik, president of the Royal Commonwealth Society's Ottawa branch, and Krishan Gupta, co-chair of the 27th Commonwealth Dinner.]()
From left, keynote speaker and federal cabinet minister Jason Kenney with Gregory Evanik, president of the Royal Commonwealth Society's Ottawa branch, and Krishan Gupta, co-chair of the 27th Commonwealth Dinner.
-
![Carleton University Provost Peter Ricketts and its chief advancement officer, Jennifer Conley, at the Royal Commonwealth Society's 27th Commonwealth Dinner held Tuesday, April 7, 2015]()
Carleton University Provost Peter Ricketts and its chief advancement officer, Jennifer Conley, at the Royal Commonwealth Society's 27th Commonwealth Dinner held Tuesday, April 7, 2015
-
![Legendary fundraiser Dave Smith, seen with volunteer Kaitlyn Nuttall, sold raffle tickets at the 27th Commonwealth Dinner held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.]()
Legendary fundraiser Dave Smith, seen with volunteer Kaitlyn Nuttall, sold raffle tickets at the 27th Commonwealth Dinner held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
-
![From left, Cameroon High Commissioner Anu'a-Gheyle Solomon Azoh-Mbi with Penny Tucker, New Zealand High Commissioner Simon Tucker and Jamaican High Commissioner Janice Miller at the 27th Commonwealth Dinner held on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.]()
From left, Cameroon High Commissioner Anu'a-Gheyle Solomon Azoh-Mbi with Penny Tucker, New Zealand High Commissioner Simon Tucker and Jamaican High Commissioner Janice Miller at the 27th Commonwealth Dinner held on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
-
![Clifford Parfett attended the Royal Commonwealth Society dinner with his daughter, Ontario Superior Court Justice Julianne Parfett,on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.]()
Clifford Parfett attended the Royal Commonwealth Society dinner with his daughter, Ontario Superior Court Justice Julianne Parfett,on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
Photos: Around Town at Royal Commonwealth Society Dinner
Around Town dropped in on the 27th Commonwealth Dinner hosted by the Ottawa branch of the Royal Commonwealth Society on Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at the Brookstreet Hotel.
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 53 countries — including Canada — bound together by common values. Almost all of the countries were formerly under British rule.
“Our mission is to promote the Commonwealth and its values and to celebrate its diversity,” Meincke told Around Town. Among the shared common principles are: democracy, human rights, international peace and security, sustainable development and environmental protection, gender equity, freedom of expression, and tolerance, respect and understanding.
In the crowd was legendary fundraiser Dave Smith selling raffle tickets. Also sighted were former long-serving deputy minister Peter Harder, now senior policy advisor to Dentons Canada LLP, and Sir Charles Gunning, whose involvement with the RCS goes back decades. Attendees also included Carleton University Provost Peter Ricketts and city councillor Michael Qaqish.
From the diplomat community were Cameroon High Commissioner Anu’a-Gheyle Solomon Azoh-Mbi, Jamaican High Commissioner Janice Miller, Acting High Commissioner Venessa Ramhit-Ramroop from Trinidad and Tobago, and New Zealand High Commissioner Simon Tucker and his wife, Penny (the wine served that night was from New Zealand). The Tuckers also donated to the live auction a dinner for 14 at their official residence in Rockcliffe.
Other live auction items included: a group embassy dinner at Earnscliffe, the official residence of British High Commissioner Howard Drake, golfing, dinner and accommodation packages at Brookstreet, and an autographed bottle of wine from federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.
carolyn001@sympatico.ca
