A SIGNATURE EVENT IN OUR COMMUNITY

CUMMINGS JEWISH CENTRE FOR SENIORS FOUNDATION
14th SPORTS CELEBRITY BREAKFAST TO HONOUR COOKIE LAZARUS,
THE DARCHE BROTHERS, TIM RAINES AND MITCH MELNICK  

High profile personalities from the world of sports and business will be on hand for the 14th annual Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors Foundation Sports Celebrity Breakfast, to be held Sunday March 25, 2018 in Montreal. Prominent lawyer and philanthropist Morden “Cookie” Lazarus will be the Guest of Honour. Brothers Jean-Philippe (JP) Darche and Mathieu Darche will be the Sports Personalities of the Year. Joining them being recognized will be baseball Hall of Fame member Tim Raines as the 2018 Montreal Expos Legend Award  winner and  sports talk show host Mitch Melnick as the Larry Fredericks Media Award recipient.

Morden “Cookie’ Lazarus is the founding partner of the Canadian law firm Lazarus Charbonneau, and has practiced law on domestic and international scale for over 50 years. Cookie has an extensive legal practice with roots in banking, commercial, entertainment and sports law. Over the years he has been legal counsel to numerous professional athletes and entertainment personalities and is widely respected internationally for his work in the field of gaming law.  Cookie is well known for the countless hours he devotes to philanthropy, much of it quietly and behind the scenes. Over the past decade he has played a leadership role at the Cummings Centre, notably as the Honourary Chair of the Sports Celebrity Breakfast.

Mathieu Darche spent 12 years as a professional hockey player. He graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in 2000, where he also enjoyed a successful career playing for the hockey Redmen. He quickly moved on to the NHL playing with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning and finally concluding his career with the Montreal Canadiens in 2013. He joined Delmar International soon after, where he now serves as national vice-president of sales and marketing. In addition he works as hockey analyst for RDS and sits on the Board of Manoir Ronald McDonald.

Mathieu’s brother Jean-Philippe spent five seasons as a middle linebacker for the McGill Redmen football team. During his final season he received the Russ Jackson Trophy as the Canadian Interuniversity Sport player who best combines football with academics and citizenship. He played professionally, first for a season in the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts, then moving on to the NFL where he played seven seasons as a long-snapper for the Seattle Seahawks and two more for the Kansas City Chiefs. He graduated from University of Kansas Medical School and lives in Kansas City where he now practices family medicine.

Tim “Rock” Raines played left field in Major League Baseball for six teams from 1979 to 2002 and was best known for his 13 seasons with the Montreal Expos. He is regarded as one of the best leadoff hitters and baserunners in baseball history. Raines was the 1986 NL batting champion, a seven-time All-Star, and four-time stolen base champion. He was elected to the Hall of Fame on January 18, 2017. In 2013, he began working in the Toronto Blue Jays organization as a roving outfield and base running instructor.

Mitch Melnick is the host of “Melnick in the Afternoon,” weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on TSN 690. He has covered the Montreal sports scene for almost 40 years and has been with TSN radio since its inception as TEAM 990 in 2001. Prior to that, he hosted the weekly TV show “The Habs This Week” on CTV Montreal. He also had lengthy stays at CJAD and CIQC radio and spent nearly a decade as National League official scorer for Montreal Expos games at Olympic Stadium. An avid music fan, he heads up the Montreal music promotion company Billy Bob Productions. He also works as a columnist for The Athletic, the popular sports website.

Among the guests expected to attend is Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, a Mont-Saint-Hilaire native, who became the 10th Canadian—and first Quebecer—to be drafted by an NFL team at the age of only 26. The six-foot-five-inch, 330-pound player earned the position of offensive guard on the Kansas City Chiefs while at the same time is also pursuing a medical degree from McGill University.

THIS ANNUAL EVENT IS TRULY A CELEBRATION OF LEGENDS AND LEADERS

Proceeds raised support “Seniors in Crisis,” a program that delivers much needed assistance to seniors in our community. Businessmen Michael Wagen and Bram Naimer serve as co-chairs of the event.   Journalist Mike Cohen and broadcaster Charles-André Marchand are the emcees. The Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors Foundation aims to meet the philanthropic challenges and needs of the 50 plus population. The Cummings Centre is a leader in the provision of quality programs, professional social services and a wide range of volunteer opportunities to the 50+ community.

For more information and tickets, contact Susan Rozansky at 514.734.1820, [email protected] or visit cummingscentre.org/foundation/sports-celebrity-breakfast

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