The Ontario Sailing Mad Men Gala was held at The Boulevard Club in Toronto on Saturday, March 31st, 2012.  It was the 10th Annual Celebration of Sailing fundraising evening for Ontario Sailing and a great night was had by all!  Many of the guests really took the Mad Men theme to heart and there were some fantastic outfits.  To add to the theme, all of the men were given black fedora hats and the women were given 'pearl' necklaces to help them get into the night even more.

 

The night started with a cocktail hour where people could browse and bid on the 103 silent auction items and socialize with sailing friends they may not have seen over the winter months.  Meredith Cutting provided some wonderful live entertainment with his voice and guitar during the cocktail hour.  New this year was a fun photo booth in which guests could pose for 4 fun shots and take home a souvenir.

 

Starting with the cocktail hour and continuing on throughout the evening was an exotic wine tasting station manned by Pierre Gagnon.  Pierre also donates all of the wine provided at the wine tasting station, all of which are wines not available in Ontario.  Pierre has extensive knowledge of wines and enjoys educating those who purchase his wine.

 

The evening continued with a wonderful dinner, provided by The Boulevard Club, and the presentation of the "Legends of Ontario Sailing Award" for 2012.  The recipients of this year's award were "Canada's, Ontario-Based, Olympic Sailing Medal Winners" which include: Terry Nielson, Terry McLaughlin, Hans Fogh, John Kerr, Steve Calder, Frank McLaughlin, John Millen & Mike Wolfs.  Three time Olympian and former ISAF President, Paul Henderson, made the presentation to the award winners and spoke about each.

 

The MC and auctioneer for the evening was Pat Bolland, brother to Ontario Sailing VP Tom Bolland and co-host of Sun News Network's 'The Roundtable.'  Guests had a great time participating in the annual 'heads & tails', game led by Pat, and then he led right into a fantastic live auction that saw great competition on many of the items.  The evening rounded out with the Gala Candy Table, a guest favourite every year, and dancing to the music of The Weathered Legs - the Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club house band.

 

Thank to our incredible Star Sponsor - Tectona Inc.

 

Thank to our Entertainment Sponsor - HUB International, and our Wine Sponsors - The Boulevard Club & Pelee Island Winery.

 

Thank you to all who were able to attend the Gala this year and to those individuals and companies that donated to our cause.  With everyone's help we were able to raise $18,600.00 that will go towards the development of sailing in Ontario!