The Mike McCann Charity Golf Tournament, presented by CLV Group and InterRent REIT, has topped itself again.
Organizers made the big reveal Thursday night, showing the breathtaking number to everyone as they flipped around the giant ceremonial cheque. “It blows me away,” said Ottawa business leader Mike McGahan of the total raised: $1,665,000.
The announcement led to a standing ovation moment as the crowd rose to its feet with excitement.
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“It’s unbelievable what we’ve accomplished together,” McGahan, executive chair of CLV Group and InterRent REIT, told hundreds at the The Meadows Golf Club in the city’s south end. “It’s amazing how many people we’re going to impact.”
The one-day fundraiser had been organized over the course of the year by a core group of 15 young and energetic employees from CLV Group and InterRent REIT.
“The team did an amazing job, but we couldn’t have done it without all of you,” McGahan said beneath the packed party tents erected for the dinner, prize giveaways and live auction. “I’ll tell you, I’m really humbled by all your support over the years.”
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Already, McGahan was talking about next year. “I know we’re going to just keep doing more every year.”
Even before Thursday, the golf tournament had cumulatively raised more than $6 million since it started 25 years ago. It brought in $3,000 during its first year. It’s thought to now be one of the largest of its kind in Canada. It has roughly 130 sponsors, with BMO Capital Markets, followed by Scotiabank, at the top. Last year, it raised just shy of $1.4 million.
McGahan made special mention of McCann, after whom the golf tournament was renamed four years ago. He was the main organizer of the event before passing away from cancer in February 2019 at age 63.
“I’ll tell you, we couldn’t have done it without Mike McCann. He greased the wheels for us and showed us the way,” said McGahan, who’s since come to truly appreciate how much work his close buddy put into the event.
At the dinner were members of McCann’s family, including his wife, Gloria McCann, with daughters Jordanna and Alexandra (third daughter Ashley couldn’t make it this year).
Gloria told OBJ.social how touched she’s been by all the effort. Her late husband’s favourite part of the tournament, besides its successful completion, was to visit all the golfers and check in on them with McGahan, she said.
“This is not a word of a lie; he always loved to ride the (golf) cart with Mike. Mike and Mike. He loved that.”
The tournament has grown so big, with more than 400 golfers, that some of the folks spent the day at the Anderson Links Golf and Country Club. They were brought back to The Meadows on a double-decker bus.
Awaiting them was a selection of gourmet food trucks and cold beverages. Later, the River Town Saints band took to the stage to play. Organizers couldn’t have asked for better weather as the summer continued to hang on.
Ottawa-based CLV Group is a full-service real estate firm specializing in development, realty, and property management. InterRent REIT is a publicly traded real estate investment trust with a portfolio of more than 14,000 apartments throughout Ottawa, Southwestern Ontario, Montreal and Vancouver.
Its Mike McCann Charity Golf Tournament was billed as “the Super Bowl of charity events” by Ottawa business leader Gary Zed. He got the crowd in the mood to bid big for the live auction. He reminded his audience of how every dollar raised was going directly to the charities, which included Youth Services Bureau, Ottawa Food Bank, BGC Ottawa, Christie Lake Kids, The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, Snowsuit Fund, The Royal, Habitat for Humanity and the Ottawa Humane Society, as well as charities from other communities where CLV and InterRent operate.
“Tonight, it’s about paying it forward,” said Zed, founder and CEO of Canada’s Forest Trust Corp. “All of us in this room have benefited one way or another from the CLV and InterRent team, and tonight we should be saying thank you; we should be finding ways of continuing their support by giving back to the community.”
The live auction alone raised about $70,000. It featured a dinner for eight at Angelina’s restaurant in Manotick (it sold to Zed’s wife, Liza Mrak from Mark Motors, for $3,700) and an NFL Experience with hotel and flights that sold twice, at $9,000 each, to Dave McGahan and to Tony Reale, head of Canadian real estate investment banking at BMO Capital Markets. Reale pointed out that he bought the same item last year. “And you’ll do it again next year,” Mike McGahan replied with a laugh.
A dinner for eight at Giovanni’s restaurant went for $4,700 while a trip to Exuma in The Bahamas, donated by Foundation WCPD, went for $10,000. InterRent REIT trustee John Jussup bought a dinner for 10 at Al’s Steakhouse on Elgin Street for $7,000.
There was also an NHL experience, with hotel and flights, that sold for $6,000 to Toronto’s Onorio Lucchese, managing director and head of real estate investment banking at Raymond James.
Oz Drewniak, president of CLV Group Developments, bought a hot tub for $10,000, while Curt Millar, CFO at InterRent REIT, paid $5,100 for a 10-person dinner at Riviera. The Ultimate Sens game experience sold for $5,000.
The Mike McCann Charity Golf Tournament always features a guest speaker from one of the beneficiaries. This year, it was Medin Admasu, chief programs officer for BGC Ottawa (formerly Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa). The organization, which changes the lives of children and youth in Ottawa, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, he told the room.
Admasu was just a kid when he first started visiting the BGC Ottawa clubhouse on Dumaurier Avenue, in the Foster Farm area. “I was a nervous little boy who wanted to play more sports.”
Admasu recalled how a giant of a man, current clubhouse manager Tim Boisvert, approached him in a welcoming way and got him playing in the club’s competitive basketball program. “I’m nine years old and these people are coming to me with opportunities.”
Admasu was able to travel with the team around the region and into southern Ontario.
“We were zero for 10 in our first year, but I loved it,” said Admasu, who got to make new friends and meet others from his neighbourhood.
One thing led to another, as they often do, and Admasu got involved in the organization’s leadership program.
Today, Admasu has the enjoyment of watching young people have the same kind of positive experiences that he did.
“At BGC Ottawa, our mission is to provide a safe and supportive space for young people for new opportunities, to overcome their barriers and to develop skills and to build confidence, such as speak in front of hundreds of people they don’t know,” he added, while breaking into a big grin.
caroline@obj.ca
