FITZPATRICK EVENT
Press Release – MAY 18, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMMUNITY THE REAL WINNER FROM TRIBUTE EVENT
A sold out crowd of friends, family and colleagues packed the Coast Capri ballroom last night to honour Kelowna resident Senator Ross Fitzpatrick. The Senator Ross Fitzpatrick Tribute Dinner, hosted by the Central Okanagan Foundation, was a celebration of his past, present, and ongoing impact on our community, our province and the country. The decision to donate funds raised by the gala to the Central Okanagan Foundation was a conscious decision on the Fitzpatrick family’s part to focus on the community Ross grew up in and chose to raise his family in.
Highlights of the evening included remarks from the Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien, Westbank First Nations Chief Robert Louie, and a touching and at times hilarious video that included music and greetings from various Senators and well wishers across the country.
The Fitzpatrick Family focused attention on the integral role the community foundation plays in supporting the charitable sector. Several other guests stepped up to establish endowment funds to help the COF reach its goal of 20 million in 2010. As Stafford McKergow, board chair of the COF pointed out, “The building of the COF’s endowment fund is not actually the goal, but rather the tool to reach the real goal of providing a substantially increased source of funding to the many charitable groups that make our community what it is.”
Many contributions to the Central Okanagan Foundation were made last night starting with the sponsors for the evening – Telus, the Gold Sponsor, RG Properties, Davis and Co. LLP, and Canadian Western Bank, the Silver sponsors. A significant donation was made by the Stewart and Bennett families of Kelowna with a $100,000 donation to the “Jim Mills Fund” at COF.
Senator Ross Fitzpatrick closed the evening with a touching thank you to the community that he considers home. By celebrating his retirement here, in the community where he was born and raised, Ross Fitzpatrick made the ultimate statement and a compelling case for the age old saying that charity really does begin at home.