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Winnipeg, September 27, 2003
Modest but committed crowd of friends and supporters of the CCBA gathered Saturday, September 27 at 154 McKenzies Street to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the Canadian Czechoslovak Benevolent Association.
Amongst special guests for the evening were MP Winnipeg North Centre Mrs. Judy Wasylycia-Leis, MLA from Burrows Mr. Dough Martindale, Honorary Consul of Slovak Republic Mr. Jozef Kiska, President of Czech and Slovak Association of Canada Winnipeg Branch Dr. Eva Seiler and President of CCBA Mr. Jerry Klimes.
Evening began with cocktails, followed by appetizers of three types of paté and four course dinner prepared by chef cook Mr. Eugen Juli with his team of dedicated volunteers. Master of Ceremony for the evening was Mr. Jozef Dobrovolny who many may recognize as MC of the Heart of Europe Pavilion at countless Folklorama festivals. Joe skillfully and with sense of humor navigated through the evening which was rich with entertainment and soulful peaches from the dignitaries.
Traditionally late, the evening began with introductions and singing of the Czech, Slovak and Canadian anthems. Immediately after, the guests were treated to selection of five songs sung by talented Miriam Haverda and accompanied by our Mrs. Elsie Machovec. The special treat of the evening was performance on classical guitar by Rodney Machovec.
The official greetings from the dignitaries radiated warmth admiring the longevity of our organization and contribution to the quality of life in the Winnipeg North End. Mrs. Wasylysia-Leis praised the decision of the organization to stay in the North End and renovate the Association facility. In a surprise moment Mrs. Judy Wasylycia-Leis presented Mr. Jerry Klimes a certificate of recognition for the contribution to the community over the past 90 years. Mr. Doug Martindale echoed Judy’s words praising the initiative to renovate the facility and was pleased to recognize the provincial government for coming through with a grant to help the efforts. Honorary Consul Mr. Jozef Kiska brought greetings on behalf of the Slovak Republic. He referred to recent article in Forbs magazine which alluded to Slovak Republic as a “tiger” of Europe for their economic initiatives. Mrs. Eva Sailer pointed out the growing cooperation between the two sisters organizations. At last but not least Mr. Klimes took place at the microphone. Still recovering from the hart operation he has undergone in the spring, Mr. Klimes gave an insightful overview of the history of the organization. (Click here)
After the conclusion of the formal part of the evening, about half of the guests remained to view a premier of a DVD featuring the last day performances at the 2003 Folklorama the Heart of Europe Pavilion. DVD’s are on sale for $20.00 each by order.
All in all it was very pleasant, nostalgic evening.
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to K.K. Plumbing for sponsoring part of the dinner wear for the evening. Many thanks also to the volunteers and performers who made this evening special, and to Mr. Joe Dobrovolny who stepped in as the MC for the evening in the last minute and lived up to our expectations.
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