For the past several months, I along with a dedicated team of volunteers and community stakeholders have been diligently planning and organizing the inaugural City of Pickering Mayor’s Gala. I am proud to announce that this black-tie, charity event will take place on Saturday, November 19th at the Pickering Recreation Complex.

I’ve always felt that the City of Pickering deserved to have a glitzy and glamorous gala celebration such as this. We have such a wonderful, caring and giving community, that I thought it would be nice if we had an opportunity, for at least once a year, to dress to the nines and enjoy a first-class evening right here at home. Most importantly, my intention was to create a signature fundraising event for our City, where all of the proceeds would be invested back into our community.

As you may be aware, the Government of Canada has declared 2005 the Year of the Veteran. Accordingly, all of the proceeds from this year’s event will be directed to charitable works in honour of Canadian Veterans including a special care room at the Rouge Valley Ajax and Pickering hospital. We plan to duly celebrate, honour and remember the contributions and sacrifices of our veterans through this special event.

To hold an event of this caliber, we must rely on the generosity of our key corporate businesses. Scotiabank is the Presenting Sponsor of the inaugural City of Pickering Mayor’s Gala, with OPG, Siemens, TACC Construction and Tribute-Runnymede as our Lead Sponsors. I sincerely thank these important corporate partners for investing back into our community.

Finally, I would like to recognize the outstanding efforts of Gala Chair, Diana-Hills Milligan, Honourary Chair, Jan DeVries and the entire Gala Committee for all of their hard work in making this special event a reality.

Please join us for an unforgettable evening of dining, dancing and sheer delight. I hope to see you on November 19th.