Posted on Jun 12, 2017
Oh!  What a Night!
2017 Winetasting & Food Pairing  was a Rip Snorter
 
For those of you who don't know Aussie, "rip snorter" means "great or fantastic" and our sold out June 10th Australian Wine Tasting & Food Pairing Fundraising Event was an overwhelming success, due to the efforts of a lot of people. Former LHP Rotarian John McDonald, serving in the capacity of Master of Ceremonies, kept the evening moving flawlessly. West Haven did not disappoint. Chef Darrell prepared a superb menu -6 courses plus dessert and coffee/tea- to compliment the Australian wines selected by our wine expert extraordinaire Malcolm Cocks. Jennifer and her wait staff kept the evening moving smoothly delivering food to the tables and removing the empty plates with precision.
Rotarians in the room were particularly impressed by having the incoming Rotary International president Ian Riseley, who happens to come from Australia, bring greetings to us -via video, another coup for Malcolm.
Malcolm arranged for an Australian entertainer-Peter Shaw-to engage us through song with all things Aussie. Barb said she would never listen to Waltzing Matilda the same way again after Saturday evening when Peter Shaw explained the meaning behind the words.
 
President Steve and AG Sue finished off the evening by honouring Malcolm with a Rotary Club of London-Hyde Park honorary membership, to thank him for his help in carrying out our most successful Wine Tasting & Food Pairing events over the past three years. We could never have done it without Malcolm’s help and expertise and for that we thank him profusely.
 
And... we raised lots of money to do ‘good in the world’.  The silent auction attracted a lot of interest from our over 100 guests as did the Great Lakes Getaway raffle.  While the final numbers aren’t in yet the silent auction raised over $3,600 and with the help of Oakridge Secondary School volunteers, Siyhun and Hanna, we sold over 80 tickets during the evening, to bring the total sold to 174, raising a further $1,740 (gross).
 
Just how much money we earned will be reported the first meeting in July, once all expenses have been paid, the raffle report is submitted to City Hall and the planning committee has a chance to take a breath and debrief. ALERT: When asked if they had enjoyed themselves, guests responded with raucous applause.
 
Some Pictures from Saturday Night