A tale of two dinners

KYLE BERGER

Without a doubt, the most defining moment of my first year as a professional journalist came in the wake of my coverage of the 1998 Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver (JCC) Sports Dinner.

As young reporter, with only about six months experience, I attended the event on behalf of the Bulletin. When the unforgettable night was over, I pitched an angle to the editor that I thought would provide the most interesting read. My idea included highlights of the successful dinner, but was also mixed with a critical look at how the media (me) and the some of volunteers felt they were treated at an event that cost $200 a ticket to attend at the time.

Well, the published story was followed up by a plethora of letters to the editor from JCC lay leaders who were livid with my take on their annual fund-raiser. A letter to the editor battle took place for several weeks between JCC representatives and those who took exception to the barrage to which I was subjected for expressing my opinion. Out of this came a new understanding for me of what it meant to write for a community newspaper, as well as the nickname "Cubbie," referring to the several letters that highlighted my inexperienced, cub reporter status at the paper.

To say that a lot has changed since then would be an understatement. As a matter of fact, I've attended – with a ticket – and reported on every sports dinner since, without conflict.

That sense of growth seemed to come full circle when I accepted the responsibility of being one the volunteer co-ordinators at this year's event – an experience that gave me an understanding and acceptance of every vicious name that had been thrown my way in the winter of 1998.

Leading up to the dinner, more than 20 committee members, under the leadership of chair Mark James, met on a regular basis for many months planning and organizing the massive affair. With the event sold out more than a month in advance, the committee spent countless hours preparing for the 800-plus ticket-holders, athletes and celebrity personalities who would attend.

All of that work led up to the morning of Feb. 8 when the sponsors' breakfast, which I attended as a representative of the Bulletin, opened at 7:45 a.m. From there, I headed straight to the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, the evening's venue, where the growing list of volunteers, which ultimately topped 80, began gathering to work on the massive set-up, co-ordinating and, of course, last-minute problem solving.

Eight hundred gift bags, filled with 4,000 items, and 800 stuffed geckos (sponsored by Telus) were put together and placed on 800 chairs. These were all complemented by 800 program guides, 800 Mariners schedules and 80 centre-piece footballs autographed by Jack Diamond Sports Personality of the Year Award-winner and B.C. Lions president Bob Ackles. Then there was the set up of the hundreds of auction items, 800 auction booklets and, of course, 1,600 drink tickets.

The volunteers, which included a large number of JCC staff, whistled while they worked until the guests began to arrive at 5:30 p.m. Then the action began.

The silent auction flowed as smoothly as the spirits served at the bars, continuing – thanks to the volunteer assistance – even as the guests gathered in the main ballroom for dinner.

Jake Edwards, the colorful radio jock, emceed an evening that included the awarding of the Jack Diamond award to an emotional Ackles and an hilarious story-filled commentary from guest speaker Jon Miller, a well-known baseball broadcaster for ESPN and the San Francisco Giants.

There were, of course, a lot of spur-of-the-moment changes and adjustments that took place throughout the night that turned myself and a list of other volunteers into Jacks of all trades. (That was me parading around like the supermodel that I am not with one of the live-auction items). But the sincere dedication presented by the entire sports dinner team pulled off a program that has been declared the largest annual event of its kind in Vancouver.

Even Vancouver Canuck assistant captain Trevor Linden, whose time has been monopolized by his role as the president of the National Hockey League Players' Association, found the event important enough to attend, as he has for the past several years.

When it was all said and done, and those of us who still had the legs to toast ourselves shared a midnight bottle of wine, I was proud to be a part of the team that helped make the event so successful.

My final thought as I dragged myself out of the hotel just before 1 a.m.: I'd be pretty upset, too, if someone wrote anything negative about this event.

Kyle Berger is a freelance journalist and graphic designer living in Richmond. He is also the sports co-ordinator of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.

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