Hockey Night in Canada's Ron MacLean had them laughing

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The Oakville Chamber of Commerce held their annual chair's dinner this past week. Ron MacLean was the keynote speaker, and he had the 400 guests belly laughing as he recounted tales of Don Cherry during Coaches Corners.

Ken Nevar - Past Chair ; Photo Credit: Oakville Chamber of Commerce

However, the crowd wasn't always laughing, but Mr. MacLean had many of the guests remembering the 16 young hockey players from Humboldt Broncos who lost their lives during a horrific bus accident on April 16th. A total of 29 people lost their lives. It was a sobering time as he shared how he and Don Cherry met with the surviving players and their grief-stricken parents. It was heart wrenching.

A key element of Mr. MacLean's address was the importance of giving back. He listed the top 10 people of Oakville according to him. The number one on MacLean's list was Dr. Mangesh Inamdar, a doctor at the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital who saved his wife's life.

The Chair's dinner provided the retiring chair a time to reflect and thank the members and chamber staff for their incredible support over the past year. During the past year the Chamber hosted the Past Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Cabinet Minister the Honourable Kirsty Duncan,

Tim Caddigan - Incoming Chair; Photo Credit: Oakville Chamber of Commerce

Premier Doug Ford, just to name a few. It also saw the passing of the baton as John Sawyer retired and Drew Redden became the new president of the Chamber.

The incoming Chair Tim Caddigan thanked Mr. Nevar for his hard work and expressed his excitement for the upcoming year.

2018/19 Oakville Chamber of Commerce Board

Executive:

  1. Tim Caddigan, Chair of the Board – Senior Director, Programming & Community Relations, Cogeco
  2. Ken Nevar, Immediate Past Chair of the Board – Executive Advisor, Cooper Construction Limited
  3. Mark Emmanuel, Vice Chair & Chair Elect – District Manager for Halton & Hamilton, Union Gas Limited
  4. Jennifer Kazmaier, Vice Chair – Owner, CalaCare Limited
  5. Doug Eglington, Vice Chair – Chairman, Euro-Line Appliances Inc.
  6. Barry Wylie, Treasurer – President, Canadian Club of Halton
  7. Cameron Neil, Corporate Secretary – Associate, Feltmate, Delibato, Heagle LLP

Directors:

  1. Lisa Azzuolo– Chief Marketing Officer, Bennett Jones LLP
  2. Kris Barnier – Vice President Government Relations, Genworth Canada
  3. Todd Courage – President, Courage Distributing Inc.
  4. Mary De Sousa – Consultant, FirstOntario Credit Union
  5. Caroline Hughes – Vice President Government Relations, Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited
  6. Joni Lien – Owner, SupperWorks
  7. Ben Molfetta – Co-Founder, Core Online Marketing
  8. Rafal Piotrowski – Partner, PwC
  9. John Piper – Owner/Operator, Piper Foods Inc./McDonald’s Restaurants
  10. Christine Szustaczek – AVP Communications, Public Affairs and Marketing, Sheridan
  11. Ruth Victor – President, Ruth Victor & Associates

The evening was exceptional. Don MacLean not only had us all laughing, he also had us all thinking.

Tim Caddigan with his Cogeco Team. Photo Credit: Oakville Chamber of Commerce