It was an evening in celebration of our cities – the very cities that play host to The Walrus Foundation’s worthwhile national efforts. The magazine, The Walrus, a sort of New Yorker of the North, is familiar to many, but the non-for-profit The Walrus Foundation that runs it may be less so. The general interest magazine is just one element of the foundation’s initiatives. Education on a national level is a top priority, and events, notably The Walrus Talks, which this year will feature topics as varied as Africa’s next generation and energy, have become must attends. (A little something for your culture calendar: On Feb. 10, a Walrus-hosted discussion on building healthy cities will be held at McMaster University in Hamilton.)
Fundraising initiatives like this latest do on Jan. 20, the foundation’s eighth annual The Walrus Gala, help to fund those aforementioned initiatives. The foundation boasts an impressive board of directors and national advisory council too, a who’s who of the Canadian business, philanthropic, arts and culture spheres. Some in attendance included Janelle Lassonde (who, along with gold-investing husband Pierre, was last year’s co-chair), writer and publisher Anna Porter, and Toronto Police Services Board chair Andrew Pringle. One notable board member is LDIC Inc.’s president and CEO Michael Decter, who has held the position of Walrus Foundation Board chair for six years, and though his term ends later this year, he was recognized in front of all during the event by The Walrus’s executive director and publisher Shelley Ambrose for time well spent with the organization.
Speaking of Ms. Ambrose, it was her table that I was seated at, and a spirited table it was. My dinner-mates included her husband, St. Joseph Media president Douglas Knight, Hudson’s Bay vice-chairman and chair of the ROM Board of Trustees Bonnie Brooks, and executive director of Rise Asset Development Jodi Butts. Senator Pamela Wallin and jeweller Myles Mindham were among the others within earshot. Also out: The Hon. crowd including former Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick Margaret McCain, former Premier of Ontario David Peterson, former Premier of New Brunswick Bernard Lord and former Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson. In keeping with the city theme, John Tory, the mayor of Toronto was present, of course. And a healthy dose of writers were in attendance, including Vincent Lam, Charles Foran and Rudyard Griffiths, and writers of songs Murray McLauchlan and Rufus Wainwright. Others included Atlantis Films co-founder Seaton McLean and his wife, actress Sonja Smits; Queen’s University chancellor Jim Leech; philanthropists Ira Gluskin and Maxine Granovsky Gluskin; Blue Ant Media CEO Michael MacMillan; Walrus editor-in-chief Jonathan Kay; and this year’s co-chairs, financier and philanthropist Stephen Smith and his wife Diane Blake.
