Haywood Securities Inc has taken sponsorship to a new level.  Not content with sponsoring the National Ski Team, the Haywood NorAm Canada Cup Series and Beckie Scott as an individual athlete, Haywood has also been active in trying to attract new sponsors for cross-country skiing and in seeking opportunities to help CCC generate additional revenue.  Therefore, when the Canadian Olympic Committee decided to present Beckie Scott with her Olympic gold medal in Vancouver on June 25^th, the Haywood team put their heads together to see how this occasion might be leveraged to support these objectives.

The plan that resulted from this initiative was for a gala post-presentation fund-raising dinner with a “Dine with Gold” theme.  Eric Savics, one of the many CCC supporters at Haywood, conceived of the idea and offered to host the gala in his personal residence – on a remarkable property in the prestigious British Properties community in North Vancouver.  While Beckie and other members of the National Ski Team were to be the guests of honour, in the Haywood plan it was another “Team” that would make ticket sales truly irresistible.  This was the British Columbia Culinary Team, which brought together many of the top chefs from the most famous restaurants around the province.  The Culinary Team was looking for the opportunity to sharpen their knives and skills in preparation for the World Culinary Olympics and has made a tradition of making themselves available to execute this “training” in the context of a worthwhile fund-raiser.  CCC is fortunate that our National Ski Team was selected to be the beneficiary of their efforts in 2004.

The “Dine with Gold” gala (black tie optional) proved to be a magical evening – a history-making achievement to celebrate, a gold-medal to be touched, a spectacular setting, world-class food and beverage and a wonderful gathering of friends of cross-country skiing.  A memorable time was had by all, and the revenue-generation goal of the evening was met as well.  When the last cheque (tickets were $500 each) comes in, the dinner will have grossed $63,000, with a net of $41,000 being generated for use in this year’s under-funded National Team program.

Cross Country Canada is indebted to the entire Haywood organization for its generous commitment to our sport.  Special thanks go to: Rob Blanchard, Haywood President, for his personal support and enthusiasm; Bob Disbrow, for his steadfast leadership and patronage; Eric Savics, for contributing his idea, his home and his relationship with the Culinary Team; and Amielle Lake, event coordinator extraordinaire.