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Welcome to the British Columbia Hospitality Foundation!
The
British Columbia
Hospitality Foundation offers financial assistance to people who
work in food, beverage and hospitality professions at a critical
time of need.
How we were inspired:
The foundation, formed in fall 2006, was inspired by the desire to
financially assist long-time wine agent Michael Willingham, who requires
a costly surgery and then the rehabilitation time to follow. The plan to
assist Michael brought to the fore a need to establish a trust fund that
could be used to assist anyone within the foodservice, beverage and
hospitality industry who requires support due to illness or accident.
What will the foundation do?
The fund will act as a safety net for the food, beverage and hospitality
industry members in British Columbia including brewers, food suppliers,
hoteliers (foodservice departments), media (in the related trade),
publicists (in the related trade ), retailers, vintners and wine sales
representatives. The fund will be managed by the board of trustees for
the foundation. On the founding board of trustees are Richard Carras,
Ken Cretney, Jeannie Crane, Geoffrey Howes, Tim Pawsey, Bing Smith, and Harry McWatters.
What will the foundation do next?
The BC Hospitality Foundation Committee will create long term goals
starting with a three year strategic plan which will incorporate fund
raising events, awareness campaigns and province wide memberships for
the hospitality industry, in support of the foundation. The goal
of BCHF is to encompass all members of the hospitality industry. To
start we will create a grass roots marketing campaign, inviting our
industry to support, suggest, inform and become involved. Our younger
members are our future; our older members serve as our guiding examples,
our mentors and our voices of wisdom. The Foundation is the safety
net for those who contribute so much to the industry, both young and
those with years of wisdom and experience. We thank you in advance for
your support and contributions.
Our Story:
Imagine getting sick or
being in an accident and having no way to support yourself. No income.
No benefits. No insurance. This is what Michael J. Willingham faced
three years ago when he became seriously ill. Michael had retired after
a long career in the wine industry. Never one to hang up his corkscrew,
he was still working as a wine agent when he was struck down by a
debilitating stroke. To help Michael pay for a costly operation and
subsequent rehabilitation, the BC Hospitality Foundation was formed. The
first course of business? A golf fundraiser held in the spring of 2007
that raised $50,000 for Michael’s care, and $25,000 for the newly
created endowment fund.
While the golf tournament was a major success, when the committee was
developing this single event, it occurred to organizers that this is an
issue that goes beyond Michael. It impacts all of us in the industry. We
are surrounded by people -- brewers, food suppliers, hoteliers in the
foodservice departments, trade media, publicists, retailers, vintners
and wine sales representatives – so many of our peers, employees and
industry advocates are living without benefits and insurance – without
that safety net that we depend on.
Our Goal:
The Foundation’s goal is to build on the momentum of the fundraising
done for Michael by and develop an ongoing program that will raise $3
million for an endowment fund by 2010.
Up Next:
On Monday, January 28, 2008 the BCHF and the Pan Pacific Hotel
Vancouver are creating the first annual BCHF Founders
Dinner. An invitation only event to the top
leaders in our industry, this dinner promises to set a new bar as a
culinary fundraising event. Pan Pacific’s Executive Chef Daryle
Nagata along with chair Tim Pawsey have hand picked a team of
chefs to showcase the finest BC ingredients.
Harry McWatters has bottled a Meritage for the
Founding Sponsors, a collector’s bottle of Okanagan hand-crafted wines
blended from traditional "noble"
Bordeaux
varietals, for our founding dinner sponsors. Six guest chefs, six action stations at the VIP Reception. Six courses
of BC Products, served with six fantastic BC wines. Need we say more?
Oh, there will be a live auction, but we promise these trips will be one
of a kind and not available anywhere else. This will be a very special
and intimate industry event as it is designed to officially launch the
BCHF to the industry, while at the same time, showcasing and celebrating
the many local producers and vintners who will benefit the most from the
success of the foundation.
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