Friends & Company November Luncheon w. Special Guest Speaker Arthur Griffiths

Date: November 15, 2013
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: 1035 Mainland Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 5P9
Ticket Cost: $35 (plus tax and ticket processing fee)
Registration Link: http://www.friendsandcompany.ca/tickets.html

Organizing Group

Group Name: Friends & Company | GLBT Friendly Networking
Twitter Account Name: @friendsvan
Twitter Topic Hashtag: luncheon

Event Information

It’s hard to believe we haven’t held a luncheon since way back in May, so it’s with great pleasure that we invite you to join us for lunch on Friday, November 15, 2013 at Yaletown’s newest dining hot spot, West Oak. You might remember attending one or more of our past events at Chinois. Well, our good friend and ally, Vancouver restaurateur Peter Girges, has reinvented the Chinois space into a sexy and modern, yet rustic environment serving all-natural, locally-inspired and sourced dishes. As always, all of our events support the essential anti-bullying and teen suicide prevention work of Out in Schools.

Our guest speaker will be legendary Vancouver businessman, philanthropist, and LGBTQ ally, Arthur Griffiths.

Arthur will give us an insider’s perspective on the current political situation in Russia as it relates to LGBTQ people, to the upcoming Sochi Games, to Canada’s Olympic athletes, and to all of us as concerned Canadians.

Most Vancouverites know Arthur best as the charismatic former owner of the Vancouver Canucks and the Vancouver Grizzlies and for building the landmark Vancouver sports venue, GM Place (now Rogers Arena), which was the first privately-funded sports arena built in Canada since Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens opened in 1931. Arthur made history in 1991 when he founded Canuck Place, North America’s first stand-alone hospice for terminally ill children. As Chairman of the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Bid Society, Arthur played a key role in bringing the 2010 Olympic Games to BC. Arthur served as Chair of the Vancouver Millennium Rapid Transit Line, a major local infrastructure project and, in 2008, he ran in a high profile campaign for the BC Liberals in a provincial by-election in the riding of Vancouver-Burrard. Arthur recently returned to Vancouver after spending three years in the UK consulting for major Russian sportswear company, Bosco, official outfitters of the Russian, Ukrainian, and Spanish teams at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The Griffiths family, including Arthur, were inducted in the the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 under the builder category. Arthur graduated from BCIT, received an honourary doctorate from Capilano University, and is a recipient of the coveted Jack Diamond Award for Sportsman of the Year. Arthur now lives in Vancouver where he runs a boutique government relations firm, Arthur Griffiths & Associates. He has four grown children and a ten-year-old daughter.

This event will be hosted by none other than the ever charming and always entertaining Robert Kaiser, the talent behind Vancouver’s best-known drag queen, the world class, Joan-E. Robert is a longtime and highly respected fixture in Vancouver’s LGBTQ philanthropy and entertainment communities. He is a two-time recipient of medals from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, having been awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 for his work in community service and again in 2012 when he received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal.

Your ticket includes a delicious 3-course lunch, prepared by West Oak’s chef and his team, a welcome glass of bubbly, a chance at winning lots of fabulous door prizes (including the latest smartphone from our friends at TELUS), an chance to participate in a 50/50 draw benefiting Out in Schools, and of course, lots of opportunities to connect with old friends and meet new ones! There will also be plenty of time to hear Arthur’s remarks and to ask him any questions that you may have about current events in Russia or about his remarkable career as a major part of Vancouver sports history.

Tickets are $35 each, plus tax and a small ticket processing fee that is charged by our ticket service provider. Registration starts at 12:00 and lunch starts at 12:30 sharp. The event wraps up around 2:30.

There will be plenty of time to hear Arthur’s remarks and to ask him any questions that you may have about current events in Russia or about his remarkable career as a major part of Vancouver sports history.

We would like to thank our generous sponsors, without whom our events would not be possible. Please take a moment to check them out! And please be sure to stay tuned for more upcoming events!

/outinschools.jpgOn behalf of Out in Schools, we would like to thank you for your support. Thank you to everyone who attended any of fifteen sold out events to date! Together, we raised tens of thousands of dollars for Out in Schools, money that directly enables Out in Schools facilitators to reach students all over BC. On top of this, our corporate sponsors and community partners have given many tens of thousands more to Out in Schools at Friends & Company events throughout the year. All of this is undeniable proof that together, we can make a difference for young LGBTQ people in our communities. Thank you.

On a serious note: Friends & Company and our sponsors remind you to please drink responsibly and plan a safe ride home. Please don’t drink and drive. Thank you.

Registration Information

Tickets available exclusively online.