Heart Lake Rotary Club's Poor Boys n Girls Luncheon with Mount Everest Summiter Dean Smith

Press Release: April 9, 2009

Everest climber keynote speaker

Rotary supports breakfast program

The Heart Lake Rotary Club presents its annual “Poor Boys & Girls” luncheon Friday, April 24 at Century Gardens Community Centre in support of the Breakfast for Kids and other Rotary programs.

The keynote speaker is Brampton native Dean Smith, who was part of the team that scaled Mount Everest last summer.

The annual luncheon raises money to support Peel’s Breakfast for Kids program, which provides a nutritional breakfast for kids across some 45 locations in the Region. Some of the proceeds also go to support other Rotary programs including a Paediatric Heart Monitor at William Osler Health Centre.

“We have been hosting this event for some time, but last year with Century Gardens under construction we took a year off. We have always had tremendous support from the community in the past and we expect we will again this year,”says Club President Shane Johnston.

Smith, a graduate of Bramalea Secondary School, began climbing 20 years ago while working as an engineer in Africa, coordinating his time off to climb Matterhorn, Mont Blanc and ski the Haute Route. He has also enjoyed climbing with business colleagues throughout the Canadian Rockies, including Mt. Assiniboine. He recently climbed Mt. Ranier and Aconcagua in South America.

Smith has worked the last 19 years in the Investment Banking business in Toronto and New York, and now works with a group of former colleagues at a Toronto-based hedge fund. He volunteers as a board member of SLYC (cottage based sailing school) and LHA (community based hockey organization). Dean lives in Toronto with Janet and their 3 children, Dylan, Connor and Avery. Dean enjoys skiing, cycling, playing hockey and has completed triathalons, including the Canadian Ironman. He is a graduate of Queen's University in Kingston (Mechanical) and of the Kellogg School of Management.

Tickets are $25, or $200 for a table of eight, and available by calling Joyce Haist at 905-452-7474 or by email at joyce.haist@bnc.ca. Registration begins at 11:30 and lunch will be served at noon.

Key sponsor is the National Bank Financial Group and Joyce Haist, Manager of Sales & Service for the bank is the Master of Ceremonies. Other sponsors include Minuteman Press, Shoppers World/RioCan, Assured Mortgage Services, Long & McQuade ,TK’s Catering, and the Family of Meli Colluci.