On December 5, 2018, the annual Pre – Christmas Reception and Fundraiser Event of the Swiss Canadian Chamber of Commerce (SCCC) took place in Vancouver. As every year, members and friends of many emigrated Swiss gathered to celebrate the Pre – Christmas season. This year however, the guests were surprised with a unique addition. Not less than four Swiss NHL stars were able to attend the 2018 edition! Sven Baertschi (Canucks), Roman Josi, Yannick Weber and Kevin Fiala (Predators) were all part of a ‘hot stove’ hosted by Joey Kenward from Sportsnet650. As all of them have been playing in the Swiss Junior Ice Hockey Team it seems to be the perfect start into the IIHF World Junior Championship in British Columbia.
Thanks to the NHL schedule, Nashville was visiting Vancouver for a game night on Thursday, December 6th, 2018. The Predators did arrive already a day earlier and thanks to Joey Kenward’s connection with the players, we were able to welcome 4 out of 13 active Swiss NHL players at this very special SCCC event. After the welcome speech from Vince, president of the SCCC and the introduction of Joey Kenward to the more than 100 attendees, we had a “hot stove” podium discussion and a Q and A session. The crowd gained a unique insight about the players personal stories, life and careers. At the end, everyone got the chance to take pictures with the players and get some autographs.
It was a fantastic experience for members, sponsors and guests attending the sold-out event. Vince Sciamanna, president of the SCCC says: “It was a great pleasure to organize such a unique event for our members and friends”.
Fabian Lemann, event coordinator and director of the board explains: “That was a very special Silent Auction 2018, organized by the SCCC. Having four of the top NHL players from Switzerland altogether at one event, is a rare and very special moment.”
Also, the Consulate General of Switzerland in Vancouver was well represented with the Consul General, Pascal Bornoz, and some of the members of his small team in Vancouver. He handed over a small present to the NHL players and thanked them for their support in the care of the Swiss appearance abroad. He also underlined their significant contribution to the motivation of younger generations. In this sense, he is looking forward to the IIHF World Junior Championship in Vancouver and Victoria.
To round the evening off, we had a draw with four lucky winners getting tickets for the Canucks – Flyers game at Roger arena, sponsored by the Vancouver Canucks. The event was a great example of the SCCC offering a unique experience and giving members and guests opportunities to network. We were able to welcome a lot of new members and Young Swiss and Canadian citizens. We had a lot of support of all our members and sponsors, among them the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation and KPMG who kindly hosted us. The SCCC is planning other high-profile events for 2019 and with focus on growing the organisation.
Some of the guest did not miss the game the following day. Among them Fabian Lemann: “Even though, the Swiss crew from Nashville was defeated by the Vancouver Canucks, it was an interesting game with very active Swiss players over the whole game”.
We would like to thank you all for attending this event and supporting us. We appreciate the over 40 Sponsors for the Silent Auction who are responsible for the 50 items. Further we thank all bidders for their generosity. Check out our 2018 Sponsor and Silent Auction Cataloque here and find more pictures on our gallery.
A special thanks goes to Jon Bradley and KPMG for hosting us at their Vancouver Downtown office.
We hope to see you at one of our next events! – For more information check out our Upcoming Event page.