This year the annual breakfast was held on December 4th at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver. Over 200 people attendees, including our corporate sponsors, community professionals, board members, and our wonderful families, arose early to be at the Hyatt Regency for breakfast starting at 7:30am.
It was our biggest Christmas breakfast to date - thanks to all the early risers for making it such a great success! Festive activities provided fun for everyone and a chance to catch up with friends, old and new.
The annual Christmas tree competition was another great success. Attendees were asked to vote for the best decorated Christmas tree from the 9 trees in competition this year. It was difficult to choose a favourite among so many outstanding trees, which get better and more creative each year! The Blazin' Soccer Dogs' "Believe in Angels" tree won first prize. Second place was awarded to Mercer's "Vancouver Welcomes the World" tree and third place was won by DSRF staff for "Canucks Nation". Honorable mention and our thanks to the other three decorators for your efforts and your support: Bridge Community Church, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Connor Clark & Lunn Financial Group, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Jarislowsky Fraser Limited and Towers Perrin.
Other events at the breakfast included Christmas gifts and crafts for purchase and a live auction. Santa made a timely arrival to the breakfast and all were jolly as he spread good cheer.
A slide show presented photos from some of the many programs held during the past year at DSRF. The smiles on the faces of the children in the presentation remind us of the reason we do what we do.
The breakfast was a team effort between DSRF, our amazing committee, and our many supporters and sponsors. We offer a very big thanks to Deborra Hope from Global Television for such a great job as emcee so early in the morning. As always, Rick Scott, DSRF's Goodwill Ambassador, provided us with an incredible performance. Again this year he was supported by a wonderful group of backup singers, many of whom are students or participants in programs offered at DSRF and they were amazing! Many thanks also to Valley Hennell for her continuing support.
A big thank you to our event sponsors for their generous support; Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (Major Sponsor), Woodhouse & Associates, the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Mercer. Your support provides great cheer to all those who attend the breakfast. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season!
