Great benefit sports dinner table set for Feb 11

Joe Carter & Devon White in London

By Mark Schadenberg

LONDON -- An annual gala gathering of champions continues to raise significant dollars for two London children's charities. This year, two baseball legends highlight the event's roster.

It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since the Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series titles. Back in 1992 and 1993 two Toronto baseball superstars were outfielders Joe Carter and Devon White.

Both will now be head table guests at the annual London Rogers Sports Celebrity Dinner & Auction on Monday, Feb. 11 at the London Convention Centre at 300 York Street (www.londoncc.com). Proceeds from the benefit are directed to the Thames Valley Children's Centre (TVCC) and Raising Hope Children's Health Foundation.

The entertaining evening will include recognition of the 2012 Beyond Disability athlete Josh Davies, along with the introduction of the top high school athletes (Spectra nominees) in the London area.

The impressive head table will also feature Vaughn Martin, defensive end of the NFL's San Diego Chargers; plus Paralympic wheelchair rugby player Dave Willsie, long distance swimmer Annaleise Carr, Olympic swimmer and Londoner Joe Bartoch, and Olympic badminton player Alexandra Bruce.

While Joe Carter is 53rd on the all-time list for Major League Baseball home runs with 396, his walk-off homer down the left-field line in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series beat the Philadephia Phillies and clinched the Blue Jays championship. Carter also caught  the toss at first base from relief pitcher Mike Timlin one year earlier that sealed Canada's first-ever world championship crown. Carter would later be inducted in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 and also has a banner unfurled in the Blue Jays Level Of Excellence in Rogers Centre.

Devon White earned seven gold gloves (five with Toronto) for his defence in centrefield, hit over 200 career homers, and made one of the most spectacular catches in World Series history in Game 3 of the 1993 final off the bat of Atlanta's David Justice.

Vaughn Martin is noteworthy as a NFL football player from London, and a grad of South Secondary, as he was a Canadian university player drafted in the fourth round in 2009 from London's Western Mustangs.

Annaleise Carr of Simcoe became a household name in Canada in August of 2012 when -- at 14 years old -- became the youngest swimmer to cross Lake Ontario. It took her 27 hours to navigate the waters from Niagara-On-The-Lake to Marilyn Bell Park in Toronto.  She has now raised over $150,000 for Camp Trillium (Rainbow Lake in Waterford), which is a recreation destination for children battling cancer.

At the Paralympics last year, Team Canada won silver in rugby. David Willsie was competing in his fourth Games in the other London -- England, winning silver. Even though he won gold at the 2002 world championships on the national squad, he could possibly be best known for the 2005 movie Murderball which was nominated for an Oscar in the documentary category.

Josh Davies is an accomplished athlete with the London Blizzards sledge hockey team, and both Team Ontario and the Forest City Flash basketball team, and also a previous Spectra winner.

Plan on attending this important fundraiser. Tickets are $150 for adults and $75 for students, and are available online at www.londonsportdinner.ca. Further details on the sports dinner and auction can be attained by contacting Brittany Webb at (519) 432-8564 (ext 112) or bwebb@childhealth.ca

On Feb. 11, doors open at 5 p.m. as this large-scale benefit, which began in 1956 and has raised in excess of $1.3 million for TVCC (www.tvcc.on.ca), also includes an astounding array of available items on a silent auction. The formal dinner is at 6 p.m. leading up to the evening's program of keynote speeches and informative interviews with the celebrities. The em-cee also has London connections -- Heather Hiscox, who is host of CBC’s News Now.

London continues to always be a popular destination for events as the London Convention Centre also prepares for its Jeans n' Classics Rock Symphony and its tribute to the classic rock band Queen (www.jeansnclassics.com) on Feb. 9,  the Student-2-Business Networking Conference (www.s2b.ca) on March 6, and the annual Women's Lifestyle Show (www.womenslifestyle.ca), March 23-24.