LEGACY CONTINUES: Hundreds of people living with HIV and significant health and social disparities benefitted from the sixth annual Life Commitment Dinner. Co-chaired by John deC. Evans and Craig and Kristen Langdon, the dinner was once again set atop a swimming pool at the home of Lorne and Melita Segal. One of the toniest tickets on the Vanhattan social calendar, the $1,000-a-pop entry fee netted $360,000 for the Dr. Peter Centre, the world class West End residence and care centre named after Dr. Peter Jepson Young, a physician who chronicled his own HIV/AIDS journey through a weekly diary televised on CBC until his death in 1992. Among those in attendance included Dr. Young鈥檚 mom Shirley, RBC鈥檚 Graham MacLachlan and Internet entrepreneur Roger Hardy.
PRESTIGIOUS INVITATION: At the forefront of American gastronomy, the mission of New York鈥檚 James Beard Foundation is to celebrate, nurture and preserve America鈥檚 culinary heritage and future. To that end, chefs from around the country and across the globe are invited to 鈥減erform鈥� at the prestigious Beard House by presenting lunches, brunches, workshops and dinners to foundation members and the public. Chris Mills, executive chef of Joey鈥檚 Restaurant, will be heading to the Big Apple for the third time in his culinary career 鈥� only the second Vanhattan chef to be invited three times; the other being David Hawksworth. Prior to opening Joey鈥檚 first Los Angeles location, Mills and his team recently fronted a delicious preview of his seven-course, California-inspired dinner at the firm鈥檚 flagship store.
BLUE AND GOLD: UBC interim president Dr. Martha Piper presided over the 2015 Alumni Achievement Awards, presented by Boyden. Seven inspiring members of the UBC community, who through their extraordinary activities have connected the university with communities both near and far to create positive change, were honoured at a lavish luau on the Point Grey campus staged at the Robert H Lee Alumni Centre. A capacity crowd was on hand to toast the accomplishments of climate scientist Dr. Gordon McBean, businessman Hari Varshney, AIDS fighter Dr. Julio Montaner, care provider Sheila Purves, audiologist Dr. John Gilbert, filmmaker Nimisha Mukerji and artist Dr. Michiko Maruyama.
