My good old dictionary defines "Gala" as a large, usually formal celebration.
While Sunday's FSAQ Gala of Champions at L'Intercontinental was formal, one could argue, however, that it was not such a great celebration.
First observation: no press material was available to the medias. Who will give speeches? Who are the winners?
I guess it's not a priority for the FSAQ to provide these information. That's not a good way of luring sponsors, who usually like to see their names everywhere when they account for a large part of the teams' and drivers' budget!
Second observation: The meal was ordinary and it was served so late I thought it came from the North Pole. Santa and his little elves probably chose to eat at the local Tim Horton's. More than 50 minutes after the main meal, I still could not enjoy a nice coffee or desert. Really disappointing!
Third observation: Nearly half of the trophies and plaques remained on the front table because nobody came to collect them. I found particularly strange the number of winners who did not attend the Gala.
Fourth observation: It was the first time I went to a Gala where people
wore jeans. As you can see in our photo gallery, most of the winners who climbed onto the stage were casually dressed in jeans. Again, really disappointing!
Even the sympathetic host of the 2006 Gala, TV and radio personality "Babu", wore jeans. Fortunately, he managed to do what he always does: make people laugh.
Fifth observation: The main sponsor, Hankook, was nowhere to be seen or found. Not a single representative was on hand. I wonder if the executives of Hankook simply became tired of the lack of visibility provided by the Gala.
Sixth observation: The FASQ general manager announced that PolePosition magazine will intensively cover the 2007 season. Yet, no one from this media attended the Gala. I know I repeat myself, but this was disappointing!
All in all, the Gala of Champions was more of a Quiet Evening of Champions. As for the no-shows, I hope they had good reasons to snub their end-of-the-year gala!
When will there be a rule that mandates all trophy winners to attend the Gala in order to receive their money prizes? Someone please answer that question!
While Sunday's FSAQ Gala of Champions at L'Intercontinental was formal, one could argue, however, that it was not such a great celebration.
First observation: no press material was available to the medias. Who will give speeches? Who are the winners?
I guess it's not a priority for the FSAQ to provide these information. That's not a good way of luring sponsors, who usually like to see their names everywhere when they account for a large part of the teams' and drivers' budget!
Second observation: The meal was ordinary and it was served so late I thought it came from the North Pole. Santa and his little elves probably chose to eat at the local Tim Horton's. More than 50 minutes after the main meal, I still could not enjoy a nice coffee or desert. Really disappointing!
Third observation: Nearly half of the trophies and plaques remained on the front table because nobody came to collect them. I found particularly strange the number of winners who did not attend the Gala.
Fourth observation: It was the first time I went to a Gala where people
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| The host of the 2006 Gala, TV and radio personality "Babu", and the FASQ general manager, Jean-Pierre Ouellet, kicked off the evening. |
Even the sympathetic host of the 2006 Gala, TV and radio personality "Babu", wore jeans. Fortunately, he managed to do what he always does: make people laugh.
Fifth observation: The main sponsor, Hankook, was nowhere to be seen or found. Not a single representative was on hand. I wonder if the executives of Hankook simply became tired of the lack of visibility provided by the Gala.
Sixth observation: The FASQ general manager announced that PolePosition magazine will intensively cover the 2007 season. Yet, no one from this media attended the Gala. I know I repeat myself, but this was disappointing!
All in all, the Gala of Champions was more of a Quiet Evening of Champions. As for the no-shows, I hope they had good reasons to snub their end-of-the-year gala!
When will there be a rule that mandates all trophy winners to attend the Gala in order to receive their money prizes? Someone please answer that question!