Founders Dinner assists B.C. hospitality industry

VANCOUVER—Supporters of the Founders Dinner II are expected to add $100,000 to the bank account of the B.C. Hospitality Foundation.

The annual invitation-only black tie gala event, planned for Jan. 26 at the Renaissance Vancouver Hotel, supports the critical medical needs of members of the province’s hospitality industry.

Since its creation two years ago, donors have raised $250,000 towards the goal of having $1.5 million in the endowment fund by 2011.

“The Founders Dinner II invites the leaders of BC’s hospitality industry to dine with their peers and spread the word that the B.C. Hospitality Foundation is the industry’s safety net,” said event organizer Dawn Donahue.

Formed in 2006, the foundation has assisted two people to date: Anne Tyler and Michael Willingham.

Tyler, a group sales representative for Coast Hotels and Resorts, received support from the foundation to improve her quality of life after she contracted cancer. Tyler died in December 2008.

Willingham, a retired wine agent with Maxxium Canada, is in need of a specialized $50,000 operation to install a pacemaker for his diaphragm following a stroke in February 2005. He’s been on a transplant waiting list for the last two-and-a-half years. 

“The man is amazing and is an inspiration for all of us that we can overcome anything,” Donahue said.

A number of restaurants, chefs and wineries donated their time as well as goods and services towards the event, which sold out all 300 available tickets.

The gala included a six-course meal prepared by six chefs and complemented by six B.C. wines, a live auction, wine raffle and VIP reception.