Actress Suzanne Somers to tell all about her latest book at Women of Action brunch

When the eighth annual Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) and Pink Lady Fund Women of Action Brunch takes place on Sunday, November 17 (11:30 a.m.) at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim (425 Metcalfe) in Westmount, television star and cancer survivor Suzanne Somers will be front and center to  talk about her latest book, I’M TOO YOUNG FOR THIS.

  

  Suzanne  Somers

Dollard des Ormeaux’s Linda Mestel is among the individuals who attends the brunch every year. “I have been attending it since its inception,” she says. “The Women of Action is a remarkable event that touches, educates and inspires. It speaks to women intergenerationally and everyone walks away with a renewed commitment to cancer research, and a strong connection to one another. We feel proud to be part of something of this magnitude that somehow still feels intimate in its importance and impact. The speakers are relevant and enlightening and often the doctors from Israel who are actually doing the research have spoken to us so we really understand what it is we are all contributing to.”

Mestel  has been asked to organize a table of 10 women each year. “This year one of the women passed away from cancer and will not be at our table,” she laments. “ I was invited to accompany my very special friend who is doing extremely well today, on her journey with breast cancer. As she completed her last chemo treatment before the winter, her mom was diagnosed with cancer. She is the one who passed away in July after being ill for about eight months. Both ladies have been coming to the event. As well I lost my dad to melanoma in his early 70s. He went from healthy to palliative in 6 weeks. My brother in law died in his 50s from melanoma and my sister had a successful bout with breast cancer. And of course everywhere we look, and in my work we are constantly surrounded by the challenges and the journeys families face with this multi faceted disease. This is our reality and will serve to further inspire us to be part of this event and what it truly stands for.”

Somers has had a multifaceted career in Hollywood, spanning more than three decades as an actress, singer, comedienne, New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur, and lecturer.  I will always remember her as Chrissie Snow from the 1980s hit sitcom Three’s Company. She is being brought to the brunch, presented by ICRF and the Pink Lady Fund. All event proceeds will benefit Breast Cancer Care, Research & Equipment.    

The brunch will honour three women:  Christiane Germain, Monette Malewski and Olga Munari  Assaly. Germain is the co-president and co-founder of Groupe Germain Hospitalité,  which currently operates hotels in Toronto, Montréal, Calgary, Québec City and Halifax. Thanks to her vision, which is shared by her co-president, Jean-Yves Germain, Le Germain Boutique-hotels and ALT Hotels, have experienced exceptional growth over the last 20 years. Groupe Germain establishments are among the most popular hotels in North America and the world according to prestigious leisure and tourism publications and magazines, such as Condé Nast Traveller, Tablet Hotels, Travel & Leisure Magazine, and Frommer’s and Fodor’s Travel Guides.  Groupe Germain is also part of the Platinum Club – an annual list of the 50 Best Managed Companies in Canada compiled by Deloitte.  

Christine Germain

Born into a family of restaurateurs and property owners in Québec City,   Germain became familiar with the realities of the world of business at an early age. She studied hotel management at Humber College in Toronto and gained experience working in establishments in San Francisco, Vancouver and Montréal. Armed with the knowledge gained from these experiences she has been able to, through enormous effort and tenacity, take the family business from restaurants to boutique-hotels, a new avenue that opened the doors of the Canadian market to her.

Germain takes special satisfaction in making significant contributions to community causes by supporting many activities which are essential to Canadian society’s progress.  She is currently playing an active role as board member of the Institute for Governance of Private and Public organizations, the Banff Centre and the Musée National des Beaux Arts du Québec.  Her many accomplishments and contributions have been highlighted on numerous occasions; Mme Germain is a Chevalière of the Ordre National du Québec , received an Honorary Doctor of Commerce from Ryerson University and an Honorary Doctor of Law from Concordia University, and was the recipient of the Canadian Entrepreneur Hotelier Award.

Monette Malewski

Olga Munari Assaly

 Malewski is a  well-recognized energetic successful businesswoman who turned a small business into a thriving venture. One of the top brokers in Canada, she is frequently invited to give keynote presentations. She just helped pioneer a wellness program to encourage employees to invest in their workforce to become healthy citizens of tomorrow. Malewski is not only an entrepreneur, but also an engaged business leader both on a professional and philanthropic level as well as an exemplary role model.

Munari Assaly is past chair of the Lower Canada College Parent Association, following a decade of outstanding volunteer service for the School. She is presently co-chair of the Leadership Development Council and was chair of the LCC Store from 2000 to 2007, contributing to record sums for the LCC Bursary Fund.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer  in April of 2006. Upon receiving the news from the doctor she embarked on a momentous journey. Where some people’s lives would have come to a halt, she kicked things into high gear. Her diagnosis of breast cancer began the still unfolding story of her inspiring lives as well as realizing many of her personal dreams. Within one week of her diagnosis she was asked to become the spokesperson for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer.  In just four short months she raised over $114,000  for breast cancer. This was only the beginning.

Driven by a heartfelt desire to help others, she values community and contribution she is compelled to use her experience to inspire and encourage people to support each other and to boldly pursue their dreams. Olga individually mentored breast cancer fighters to help them reach this goal.

She decided to share her story by creating a book. Her book, The Joy of Cancer: A Journey of Self-Discovery, was released in October of 2012. The memoir aims to compel readers to find opportunity in adversity. Having completed her nutrition and personal trainer certification, the next leg of her journey will befit women recovering from treatment by helping them get strong and healthy once again.

Following her dreams, she participated in many speaking engagements. Olga presented at the Tedx Talk in Vegas in January of 2012. Interviewed by the media on several occasions appearing both on television and the radio. She also gave speeches at the Kirkland Library in October of 2012, Lower Canada College on several occasions, at the CLSC in the West Island, Relay for Life in June 2013. At the moment she is regularly participating in Toastmaster, dancing lessons, mentoring cancer patients, volunteering, fundraising and personal training. Between all of this she manages to also sit on the School Board at Lower Canada College.
 

New Montreal Mayor Coderre's minority government: I saw the signs

So what are we to make of the municipal election results in Montreal and the surrounding areas?

Denis Coderre

Denis Coderre is the new mayor of Montreal, but without a majority and just over 30 percent of the vote. You can blame this, I believe, mainly on Coderre's mysterious decision not to have campaign signs on the polls. In Côte des Neiges-NDG, specifically, Coderre had a star candidate in former Montreal Teachers Association president Ruth Rosenfield. She worked tirelessy. Her picture on polls would have done wonders since she already had a high media profile. Independent  Jeremy Searle returned to office on the precise strength of his multitude of signs.

Coderre will be a good mayor. I expect to see him stand up to Quebec City and charm everyone on the international scene with his charisma.

Marcel Côte is  a true gentleman. I had a chance to meet the successful businessman during the campaign and it would indeed be a good move for Coderre to bring him into his inner circle. By doing so he could perhaps gain the support of the likes of Russell Copeman, Marvin Rotrand and other members of the Côte team, as well as the slew of independents  to get that majority he needs to govern comfortably.

Melanie Joly was indeed the story of this campaign. While she did not win the mayoralty, for a relative unknown at the start of the race she is a person to watch. In fact,  I would expect her to turn up as a star candidate for Justin Trudeau and the Federal Liberal Party in the new downtown riding that will materialize in the next election.

Richard Bergeron, the leader of Projet Montréal, has to be disappointed. I met him on two occasions during the campaign. He told me about the 400 campaign workers he had on the ground each night and the massive amount of campaign signs. This was to be his time. But it wasn't. Projet Montréal still elected more than 20 councillors, so their voice will be heard.

As for some of the other cities and towns, the results in Laval disturb me greatly. I was personally acclaimed for my third mandate as a city councillor in Côte Saint-Luc.  Eight years ago, during my first election, I remember that our retired city manager wanted to run for council. The problem was he had just moved back to the city and was not a resident as of September 1 one year prior to the election. So he stepped aside, cognizant the Quebec Electoral Act was very clear on eligibility rules. In Laval, Mayor Elect Marc Demers did not live in Laval for a full 12 months, as of September 1, 2013. He made no secret of this fact. The Director General of Elections was aware of this, yet took no action. There has to be a legal action, they maintain. What kind of message are they sending? If Demers is allowed to serve his term, then such abuses will be rampant in the next municipal elections. Should there be a challenge, Demers could be kicked out of office and another costly election called.

Behind the scenes: San Jose Sharks hold surprise team meal at Del Friscos

It has been a long time since Canadiens legend Larry Robinson lived in Montreal, but thanks chiefly to his agent and close friend Donny Cape a connection has been maintained with our city.

Cape and Robinson became pals and business partners back in the 1980s. Robinson and his family resided in West Island Kirkland, not far from Cape’s Dollard des Ormeaux home. They ran an auto repair shop together called Dingy. Even after  Robinson left the Habs to play for the Los Angeles Kings and then coach there, the bond between the two men and their families remained. It is sad and almost scandalous that the Habs never reached out to bring Robinson back here as part of their coaching staff. He spent most of his time behind the bench as a head coach and assistant with the New Jersey Devils. Prior to the 2012-2013 lockout season he left the Devils to become an associate coach with the San Jose Sharks. Habs new head coach opted in favor of Jean-Jacques Daigneault to run the defensive corps.

As Robinson’s agent, Cape has handled all of his merchandising, appearances, endorsements and contracts. Very quietly, Robinson spends parts of his summer staying at the Cape home. One of the oufits he endorses is Del Friscos, the popular restaurant at the Galeries des Sources in Dollard. Commercials have been running on TSN 690 Radio for years, with Robinson insisting that this his “go to” place when he comes back to Montreal.

 

The Sharks players (with Donny Cape front and center) strike a pose.

Well, Robinson is indeed a man of his word. When the Sharks came to town to play the Habs on October 24, Robinson arranged for the entire team to have a meal at Del Friscos the night before. “It was wild,” Cape told me. “Last year Larry told me he was going to do it and I thought it was impossible. Well Larry went ahead and rented a bus and indeed  brought the entire team and coaching staff. Naturally they loved the meal. The bus was a half hour late to pick them up to return to the hotel,  which turned out to be very lucky for the customers as the players stuck around, signed autographs and posed for pictures.”

The Sharks coaching staff, with Robinson third from the left and Cape far right.

Needless to say, Del Friscos owners John, Terry and Jimmy were a pretty proud trio.

Del Friscos is known for serving creative Italian American cuisine in a cozy and welcoming ambiance.  The menu offers everything from traditional Italian pastas, to a variety of fresh salads,  signature veal and wood-burning oven pizzas.  
 

 

The legenday Joe King passes away at the age of 90

In his last email to me just two weeks before he died, Joe King signed off as “the ageless one.”

Joe King

King, a well known  Jewish journalist, author, communications guru, fundraiser and former member of the Canadian Royal Air Force, passed away suddenly on October 26 at the age of 90. He was a tireless worker until his last breath, each day refusing to accept the word “retirement” and undertaking one different project after another. I must say, even at 90 Joe left us way too soon.

A native of Toronto, King’s professional career took him to the four corners of the world, but particularly to the Middle East (19 visits in war and peace). His major publications included a trilogy on Montreal Jewish history (From the Ghetto to the Main,   Baron Byng to Bagels and  Fabled City), The Jewish Contribution to the Modern World  and  The Case for Israel as a handbook and DVD.  

King may have been best known for the decades he spent as the communications director for the local Jewish Federation of Community Service. Then known as Allied Jewish Community Services, King reportedly retired in 1988. He subsequently resurfaced as a communications advisor for several organizations and then assumed the role of executive director of the Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University.  He remained at that post until about 15 years ago, moving on to dedicate himself to writing books and giving lectures. King was a familiar site around town, walking the streets with his small brief case. His press releases went out fast and furiously, usually written at 4 a.m.

The Jewish Public Library’s archivist-emeritus, Eiran Harris, once wrote that “every Jewish community should have a Joe King book written about it.”

Dubbed  the “Historian of Jewish Montreal,”   King poured 40 years of research into his book book From the Ghetto to the Main.  In 30 chapters, his research has turned up sensational findings on the Canadians who schemed to prevent Jews from escaping Hitler’s Europe while assisting war criminals to enter Canada. In one instance, he found that, when the French government sent a warship to bring a convicted (in absentia) killer of Jewish children back to justice, he was tipped off by a Canadian prime minister and fled.

King’s career began with The Canadian Press News Agency and then their broadcasting division, Press News, with a time-out to serve in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II. He was a pioneer in television public affairs broadcasting and, at CJCHTV, Halifax, originated with the support of Senator Findley MacDonald, the hour long television news and public affairs telecast. He was one of the first public affairs broadcasters on Canadian television, a co-founder of the CTV station in Halifax (CJCH-TV), and came to Montreal in 1960 to work at CFCF Radio and Television, in part because of the city's much larger Jewish community.  King  met and interviewed some of the most important individuals in history, Canadian, Israeli and world. He researched, wrote and hosted a television documentary, Cosmonaut and Capitalist, with the world's first spaceman Yuri Gagarin and Cyrus Eaton, who sought to build bridges between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Only last May King launched a trio of handbooks, a “mini-reference library”  in the fight against anti-Semitism and the campaign to destroy Israel. Federal cabinet minister Jason Kenney attended as a guest speaker.

“Joe was a remarkable man of prodigious talent,” commented Beth Israel Beth Aaron Congregation’s Rabbi Reuben Poupko. “His breadth of knowledge and experience was breathtaking. The Montreal community has suffered an immeasurable loss, and the Jewish People a brave defender.”

Federal Citizenship Judge Barbara Seal, who worked with King at the Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University, said, “Joe was a source of great knowledge. He loved nothing more than imparting this knowledge to others. His kindness and generosity was evident in the pride he took in the achievements of others and celebrating their successes.”

Former Quebec Justice Minister Herbert Marx and his wife Eva were close to King. “We remember Joe for his dedication, hard work and imagination, all laced with his delightful sense of humour and fun,” said Herbert Marx. “ We got to know him when he was executive director of Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University.  As such, he led groups to Israel and we were fortunate to be part of his missions.  He always did much research and planned our trips meticulously.  We remember many special visits, but one stands out. We went to Jordan and viewed the promised land from Mount Nebo, where our forefather Moses stood to view the land of milk and honey, a land he was forbidden to enter.  It was a landscape and a sight we all remember.  As well, every morning when we boarded our sight-seeing bus, Joe read to us excerpts from the Montreal Gazette, keeping us up to date on home news from the previous day.  He also always carried a carefully wrapped gift for one or another of our Israeli hosts.  Joe was thoughtful, caring, well-informed; these were gifts that did not need wrapping.  His many books and articles will live on after his sad passing, but Joe  as a person was a treasure in our community and he will be sadly missed.”

Anne-Marie Withenshaw returns to 92.5 The Beat

92.5 The Beat has announced the return of Anne-Marie Withenshaw and All-Access Weekend to the lineup Sundays from 10 am to Noon beginning Sunday, November 3. All-Access Weekend is distinctive to Montreal radio combining a recap of the week’s biggest entertainment and local stories with a look ahead. Along with Montreal’s feel good music, it includes interviews with the “in-the-now” celebrities from the world of TV, Movies and Music.

 

Anne-Marie Withenshaw

Withenshaw is an award-winning TV and radio personality and one of Montreal’s broadcast industry’s most respected and recognized professionals.  The new mom is drop dead gorgeous, 100 percent bilingual, full of personality and very well connected. Withenshaw  got her start as a VJ on MusiquePlus then travelling the globe for Quebec’s longest running entertainment show, “Flash”. During her 5 years as a reporter and then host of the show, she attended the Grammys, Oscars, Cannes and Sundance film fests and interviewed hundreds of personalities and newsmakers. Since then, she hangs with the Habs on TSN, RDS and NHL Network USA as the host of the much talked-about “Your Canadiens”, has eaten her way through Quebec with celebrities on Guide Restos Voir, and co-hosts ARTV's flagship TV-critic-gabfest C'est Juste de la TV.

 

Program Director, Leo Da Estrela says, “We are thrilled to have Anne-Marie back from her Maternity leave and in the lineup.  She is a perfect fit for the personal nature of radio, particularly on Sundays when listeners can spend time with her catching up on all the entertainment stories of the past week and to what’s hot and happening in the week ahead. Anne-Marie’s charm and personality, coupled with the best music mix in Montreal, will prove to be a winning combination and a must listen each Sunday."

 

Here is a great interview with Anne-Marie.