Under the honorary presidency of Réal Raymond, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Bank of Canada, the gala raised an impressive $550,000 for the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation. Since Tony Meti founded the event in 1998, nearly $3.9 million has been raised for the Foundation.

Mr. Meti, a driving force behind the gala, was joined by organizing committee members Dana Ades, Jasmine Nadeau, Joseph P. Capano, Raymond Massi, Benito Migliorati, Luc Sabbatini and
Joey Saputo. Their enthusiasm and generosity went above and beyond, once again this year.

Bal du Cœur grants The greater part of the proceeds was earmarked for the Bal du Cœur grants, which are traditionally awarded to promising young MHI physicians to help fund their studies abroad in their respective sub-specializations. One of this year's grants of $25,000 was given to  Dr. Ismaël El-Hamamsy, a cardiac surgery resident at the MHI. Dr. El-Hamamsy, a University of Montreal graduate, will be attending the Imperial College in London to pursue a Ph.D. in basic research with emphasis on tissue engineering of heart valves. Dr El-Hamamsy in company of the honorary president of the evening, Mr. Réal Raymond.

The second $25,000 Bal du Cœur grant was awarded to University of Montreal graduate and MHI anesthesiologist, Dr. Jean-Sébastien Lebon. Dr. Lebon will be furthering his knowledge of minimally invasive valvular and coronary surgery at the highly reputable OLVZ hospital centre in Aalst, Belgium.

Research on congenital heart disease
This year, the organizing committee announced that it planned on supporting a program for children with congenital heart disease. To honour this commitment, the Foundation and the Montreal Heart Institute recommended that part of the evening's proceeds be directed toward research on congenital heart disease. As a result, $250,000 will be given to a team of MHI researchers, who, together with Sainte-Justine hospital researchers, will work on a new research project aimed at better understanding patients with this type of heart disease.

Winter Wonderland
The 500 renowned guests in attendance were whisked away on a gastronomic journey to the heart of winter wonderland as they enjoyed a savoury feast concocted by Château Vaudreuil's talented executive chef, Nicola Di Pardo. This sparkling epicurean experience also owed its magic to collaborators like Nadia Saputo of Fanadica Inc., who managed to capture the essence of winter by designing an enchanting decor not soon to be forgotten.

Our sponsors' heart-warming generosity certainly also helped make the evening a hit. They included Sylvain Labarre of Ig2, whose teams produced a touching video and published the frosty coloured gala booklets; Frank Carbone of Rosmar Litho, who oversaw the printing of the booklets, free of charge; and Ronald Lacasse of Groupe de Présentation Corpav, who delivered outstanding audio-visual technical support. François Roberge of La vie en Rose, kept up tradition by providing superb ladies' party gifts once again.

The Foundation would like to warmly thank the gala's donors, partners and collaborators. Their support made this fundraiser an outstanding success!