Yesterday I attended the CUAA Alumni Recognition Awards banquet at the Sofitel Hotel. I don't usually frequent these types of events but Lillian Vineberg - who had worked with my father on the university's Board of Governors as well as in the Alumni Association - was receiving the Humberto Santos Award of Merit and both my mother and I felt we should be there since my dad would have been there for Lillian too.

I met a number of very interesting people: I had a chance to speak to Martin Singer, the Provost who will be conferring my diploma to me in a few weeks. For the banquet I sat alongside Jerry Tomberlin, the Dean of the John Molson School of Business and with Claude Lajeunesse, new President and Vice-Chancellor of Concordia University.

It's almost been ten years since my father passed away in 1997 and what touched me the most yesterday evening was that so many people are still thinking about him and looking up to him as inspiration. He loved Concordia because of the opportunities it offered him and was deeply involved in many aspects of the university from fundraising to academics. If he were alive today, I believe he would have retired and probably taken a teaching position at Concordia just because it would have been fun for him, as well as the fact that he'd be helping out a new generation of business and community leaders.

CUAA award banquet info