NEWS RELEASE
TIMMINS AND DISTRICT HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
The 17th Annual Days Inn Spring Ball promised an evening of delectable food, enjoyable music and $250,000 for the Timmins & District Hospital’s Surgical Program and the Foundation delivered.
More than $260,000 was raised at the exclusive gala held at the Days Inn on Saturday, May, 2nd, 2015 thanks to the generosity and support of event sponsors, donors, volunteers and guests.
These funds will be directed to the Surgical Program at Timmins and District Hospital for the purchase of the following equipment: Endoscopic Cyclophotocoagulation Laser (ECP), Nerve Integrity Monitor (NIM) and Orthopedic Power tools.
Since the inception of the black-tie gala 17 years ago, an impressive $2.5 million has been raised in support of the purchase of much-needed medical equipment.
Jean-Paul Aubé, 2013-2016 Capital Campaign Chairperson, opened the evening with a few cheque presentations, over and above event sponsorships, including $25,000 from Mrs. Dolores Larche and $10,000 from Lakeshore Gold.
Another $10,000 cheque from J.S. Redpath will be presented to the event committee at a later date.
As part of the Foundation’s 2013-2016 Capital Campaign, Goldcorp presented a $500,000 cheque to Jean-Paul Aubé to be added to last year’s $500,000 donation to go toward the purchase of an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine.
More fun and fundraising was to be had after a scrumptious meal prepared by Yvon Jobin, Chef, Days Inn & Conference Centre and a decadent dessert prepared and donated by Josée Legault, Owner of The Little Cake Boutique.
Following the closing of a most successful silent auction filled with more than fifty items, the live auction had guests digging into their pocket books to bid on fourteen exquisite prizes.
Draws for the Spring Ball Lottery followed the live auction with the top prize - a De Beers Canada Victor Mine 1.13 carat Ideal Square cut diamond and mounting set by Cousineau Fine Jewellery valued at $12,000 – going to Roger Fortin of Timmins. See complete list of winners attached.
Emcee, Jean-Paul Aubé, was surprised as the evening’s agenda was diverted for a special presentation to honour him and his philanthropic support of the Timmins & District Hospital for the last 30 years.
“Jean-Paul Aubé sets the precedent as the longest fundraiser, I am sure, as well as the longest active supporter of the hospital,” stated Léon Laforest, Chair, Board of Directors, TADH. “He has given so much of his time, effort and commitment to our community and we would like to take this opportunity to recognize his contribution,” continued Laforest.
Mr. Laforest then called upon three speakers – Vic Power, longest serving Mayor of Timmins and member of the Order of Canada; Tom Laughren, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Lake Shore Gold and former Mayor of Timmins from 2006 to 2014; and Steven Black, Mayor, City of Timmins.
As a video, provided by CTV, played various news appearances by Jean-Paul Aubé dating back to 1985, Mr. Power spoke of meetings with the Ministry of Health that made clear that a significant portion of the funding needed to build a new hospital would have to be raised locally.
“Enter Jean-Paul Aubé,” exclaimed Vic Power, longest serving Mayor of Timmins. “Timmins was fortunate to have an effective fundraising team with J.P. as its captain,” he said. “Mr. Aubé canvassed the federal government, provincial government, the municipality, corporate donors, service and fraternal groups, private citizens as well as our neighbouring communities – at all times with an admirable blend of diplomacy and determination,” added Power.
Mr. Power continued on to say that the dream of a new hospital became a reality, but, without the fundraising expertise of J.P. Aubé and his dedicated group of volunteers, none of this would have taken place.
“On a cold October, 15, 1993, this new state-of-the art facility was officially opened,” added Power, who is also a member of the Order of Canada.
Tom Laughren spoke of the improvements made in the Timmins & District Hospital thanks to the fundraising efforts of Jean-Paul Aubé and his various campaign teams since the hospital was built 23 years ago.
Such improvements and capital investments include the purchase and installation of a new MRI in 1997; an ER expansion and renovation in 1999; installation of a new regional CT scanner and expansion of Sleep Lab in 2003; installation of a new 64-slice regional CT scanner in 2005; construction of the medical office building in 2006; modernization of OR suites in 2007; construction of a new Spiritual Place (traditional Aboriginal healing room) in 2009; construction of the new Dialysis unit in 2011; relocation of Oncology unit to larger and improved space in 2013; and in 2014, we had the expansion of GI/Endoscopy program, the relocation of the Fracture Clinic, and the purchase and installation of two new X-rays.
Mayor Steve Black spoke of the future of the hospital and the legacy Mr. Aubé is leaving for generations to come.
“The Timmins & District Hospital provides essential services that benefit everyone in our community,” stated Steve Black, Mayor, City of Timmins. “As a parent of young children, I am very grateful to Mr. Aubé for the hard work and dedication that he has invested in our district hospital, thus ensuring that they, and future generations, will have access to quality healthcare services for years to come,” continued Black.
Mr. Aubé was then serenaded a song by local francophone singer and songwriter Céleste
Lévis. Lévis, who was recently a semi-finalist on La Voix, the francophone version of The Voice, thanked Aubé for all his years of service to our community and dedicated the French song to him.
The surprise ceremony concluded with Mr. Aubé being presented with a “key to the hospital” - a TADH photo ID badge with “philanthropist” below his name as his title.
When asked why it was so important to honour Jean-Paul Aubé in this way, Janna Burke, Executive Director of the Foundation stated the following: “Mr. Aubé is currently our 2013-2016 Capital Campaign Chair and, for the last 30 years, he has chaired all but one of the fundraising campaigns benefitting the Timmins & District Hospital. In those 30 years, the Foundation has transferred more than $35 million to our hospital. How could we not take this opportunity to thank him for his commitment to our community?”
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