Celebrating Ottawa tourism staff at 2017 Stars of the City

Infinity Convention Centre was full of stars on Tuesday night as Ottawa Tourism honoured local hospitality and service industry staff that went the extra mile to deliver excellent customer service this past year.

Among recipients were the Lord Elgin Hotel and its restaurant Grill 41, which received three separate honours on the night, including this year’s grand prize.

The Lord Elgin’s Sulin Quant Anastas was named the 2017 Star of the City for her actions in handling a guest’s medical emergency.

After learning that the visitor had been unresponsive to calls from her tour guide, Ms. Anastas went to the room to check on her and found the guest quite ill. Ms. Anastas then called the tour guide and the guest’s spouse to return to the hotel, as well as phoning for an ambulance, all while remaining by the guest’s side.

Ms. Anastas continued her service by translating between paramedics and the ill guest, as she spoke only Spanish. After arriving at the hospital, the guest had emergency surgery for her perforated appendix.

The Lord Elgin’s team and Grill 41’s Tammy Ng were also given the Star Team and Evening Star honours respectively for their day-to-day work in ensuring the comfort of their guests.

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You might say that Dhadkan has a heart of gold, following its Midas Touch-themed benefit dinner held Friday at the new Infinity Convention Centre.

The Indo-Canadian community-based organization, named after the Hindi word for heartbeat, has raised more than $10 million in charitable donations since it began 15 years ago.

Leading the organization is Anand Aggarwal, owner of Manor Park Development, winner of a 2015 Immigrant Entrepreneur Award and the man of the hour at the benefit dinner for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.

He’s also one of the owners of the elegant new convention centre, with business partners Harry Sohal and his sons, T.J., Sonny and Gary, all of whom were at the dinner. The venue enjoyed its glitzy grand party a year ago, hosted by Ben Mulroney.

Going forward, the charity group is rebranding itself as Infinity Cares and will continue hosting events each year for local charities. The Dhadkan dinners have enjoyed a long and philanthropic history in Ottawa of supporting the Heart Institute.

The Midas Touch dinner was expected to bring in approximately $51,000 for the cancer foundation, Aggarwal told OBJ.social. That extra grand isn’t thrown in just for fun, by the way. It’s considered unlucky in India to offer money that ends with a zero. It’s more auspicious if the amount ends with the number one.

The evening  featured Bollywood-style entertainment, full of shaking hips and undulating bellies. The room exuded an effortless feel of royalty with its elegant dinner tables and gold colour theme.

Accordingly to mythology, King Midas gained the power to turn anything into gold with just a single touch. Yet, what seemed like a blessing became a curse after he unintentionally turned his daughter into a golden statue.

“In the end, what’s most important is not the gold but your family and the people in your life,” said Ottawa event planner Tami Varma, who was a key organizer, along with Anu Sohal.

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Held on November 6th at the Infinity Convention Centre, the 2017 Negev Dinner honoured renowned Ottawa lawyer and philanthropist, Lawrence Greenspon.

Well known for his work in the legal industry, Greenspon has also demonstrated outstanding personal effort in both community leadership and a dedication to Israel.

Greenspon’s long resume of community involvement includes co-founding Reach Canada, being on the boards of the Snowsuit Fund and Youth Services Bureau Foundation, chairing Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa, and volunteering with the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre. He has also chaired several fundraising campaigns, sold off live auction prizes at galas, and has even risked making a fool of himself dancing or boxing for charity!

Selected by Greenspon and his wife Angela Lariviere, the evening raised funds for Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran, a cause that helps children and adults with special needs.

The sold out kosher dinner brought together leaders in the Jewish community, corporate sponsors, professional fundraisers, non-profit organizations, and the Ottawa community all under one roof.

2017 Negev Dinner was truly a night to remember.

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For those seeking the bright lights and big parties, Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is where it’s at. The Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP) Canada’s hosted a major celebration Friday in honour of the most important holiday of the year in India, and there was no shortage of luminaries in sight.

The 7th Diwali & Awards Gala took place at the opulent Infinity Convention Centre. It was held in support of the Queensway Carleton Hospital and was chaired by Sid Kumar, a 2017 Forty Under 40 recipient and president of NetIP Canada, a non-profit organization dedicated to boosting the achievement and advancement of South Asian professionals.

Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi served as honourary co-chair with InCa Synergies founder and chief executive Raj Narula. The gala is NetIP’s way of connecting with the broader community, he told OBJ.social.

“I think what’s important, in my view, is that we start bringing our (Indo-Canadian) community into the mainstream,” said Narula. “I think our community is reaching out more and more. It’s a great story, in terms of leadership and in terms of giving and in terms of getting involved in the community.”

The gala saw the first-time induction of three exceptional individuals into NetIP Canada’s Hall of Fame. They were: developer Cuckoo Kochar, president and CEO of platinum sponsor Phoenix Homes; High Commissioner of Canada to India Nadir Patel (he delivered a thank-you message via video); and Canada Post president and CEO Deepak Chopra.

Chopra accepted his award on behalf of the 65,000 employees who work at Canada Post. He lauded their entrepreneurial innovation in helping to create new services, such as drive-thru parcel pick-up centres and fitting rooms for faster merchandise exchanges.

“In 2011, when I started, it was left for dead; most people had written off Canada Post,” said Chopra. “But, these 65,000 people have transformed Canada Post to become Canada’s No. 1 parcel company.”

Last month, Canada Post released a new stamp celebrating Diwali, to reflect Canada as a land of diverse faiths, customs and celebrations. As well, India Post and Canada Post have entered into bilateral agreements to open up e-commerce between the two countries.

Event sponsors included Carleton University, represented by interim president Alastair Summerlee and his predecessor, Roseann O’Reilly Runte, now president and CEO of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. They handed out the awards on stage.

Summerlee told an uplifting story about the importance of light, based on his humanitarian work in refugee camps in Kenya.

The girls there were denied the ability to get an education due to the fact that they had to work all day and had no electricity to study at night, when it was dark. The solution – to provide them with solar lamps – led to a big jump in the number of girls getting an education and, moreover, winning scholarships.

“The power of light and what it means to people across the world is really important,” said Summerlee. “To be here celebrating with you during Diwali and to be able to share the power of light together is very meaningful. Thank you for including me in this very auspicious occasion.”

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Infinity Convention Centre was honoured to host The Sparkle Dental Charity Ball, an evening that raised funds for families and individuals who cannot afford regular dental checkups.

The Sparkle Dental Charity Ball, now in its third year, has raised $20,000 over the past two years.

“It’s definitely something that needs a lot more awareness,” said McFarlane.

The glamorous evening featured an extravagant dinner, a fashion show by Cantas Fashion, Redblacks cheerleaders, lots of live music and entertainment, and executive producer Aaron McFarlane’s personal story of wanting to give back to the community.

It was truly an evening to remember!

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Ottawa’s newest convention centre is now open for business, timed to meet the city’s celebration needs as it prepares to mark Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017.

“This is about eight years in the making,” said Anu Sohal, who co-owns the $20-million Infinity Convention Centre, located at 2901 Gibford Dr. off Hunt Club Road.

“We thought the timing was right with 2017,” she said. “We knew we had to be open by 2017.”

Being in the hotel business, she and her fellow co-owners, including her husband T.J., his brother Sonny, Sonny’s wife Kiran and longtime Ottawa entrepreneur Anand Aggarwal, have seen an increased demand in bookings for Canada’s sesquicentennial celebration year.

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Bold, modern, and opulent, Infinity Convention Centre is Ottawa’s newest wedding and events venue.

The $20M centre joins the South Ottawa family owned and operated hotel properties the Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn by Hilton, the soon to be built Homewood Suites by Hilton, and The Residence Inn by Marriott.

Being in the hospitality field for two decades, the Sohal family recognized this business opportunity in the lack of hotels in Ottawa’s south end, as well as the limited high-end spaces available for social and corporate events.

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When the brand new Infinity Convention Centre opens for business on October 1st, it will add an exciting new element to Ottawa’s meeting and event industry. The stylish venue, located at the intersection of Hunt Club Road and Uplands Drive, close to the Ottawa airport, offers up 15,000 square feet of flexible space capable of accommodating up to 1500 people.

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One thing I love about Ottawa is the fabulous black tie events that pop-up several times a year. I promise you, nothing makes me happier than getting my glam on, slipping into a gorgeous formal gown and attending events where everyone is dressed in their finest.

I had the opportunity to get all dolled up and attend the “Putting On The Ritz”-themed grand opening of the beautiful Infinity Convention Centre – Ottawa’s newest events venue. To celebrate the grand opening of this jewel box of a space, a stunning gala was held on Thursday, October 13th with 600 of Ottawa’s finest VIPs in attendance. We all danced this night away at this sparkling event hosted by none other than Ben Mulroney of CTV’s Your Morning.

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