Benefit dinner draws near sell-out

The annual “Community Chest” benefit dinner at La Place Rendez-Vous last night looks like it was another rousing success, bringing in about $14,100.
“I think things went extremely well,” said Georges Blanc, who helped organize the dinner as both co-owner of the Rendez-Vous and a member of the local Knights of Columbus.
Blanc noted 250-260 people came out for the fundraiser.
The $14,100 total included proceeds from tickets sales, raffles, and silent and live auctions.
Last year’s benefit dinner brought in $16,100—about $1,100 more than in 2001. The live and silent auctions were responsible for about $9,000 of that total.
Larry Cousineau once again emceed the evening, which also featured guest speaker Todd Hamilton.
A cancer survivor, Hamilton kept the tone light as he recalled some humorous moments he experienced while undergoing treatment, stressing the message: “Friendship is the best medicine in the world.”
The dinner consisted of cream of asparagus soup, salad, roast beef and gravy, roasted potatoes, baby carrots, homemade cabbage rolls and perogies, and turtle cheesecake.
The food was donated by various individuals and suppliers to offset the cost of the meal. Meanwhile, the Muskie boys’ hockey team assisted the Rendez-Vous staff in serving.
There also were plaque presentations to volunteers who had helped out the “Community Chest” with its fundraising efforts, including Blanc, Mark Jones, president of the local Kiwanis Club, Cecil Duffy of the Knights of Columbus, Dick Bird of the Fort Frances Lions Club, Linda Hamilton of the “Spirit of Christmas,” Mike Scott of Canada Safeway, Jean and Lin Boileau, George Bartlett, and Luke Schill.
Dinner-goers also were kept busy, buying raffle tickets and bidding on items up for grabs in the silent auction. And the evening was topped off with a live auction, featuring auctioneer Telford Advent.
A plethora of items were donated by local businesses, service clubs, and individuals for the auctions and raffles.
The event was a co-operative effort of the Rendez-Vous staff, the local Kiwanis and Lions clubs, Knights of Columbus, and the “Spirit of Christmas” committee.
The purpose of the “Community Chest” is to provide financial aid to local families who may need help to cover medical costs, for which it receives requests on a regular basis.
In the past year, a total of 52 cheques were issued to individuals in need. These totalled $26,746.17.