Annual Sporting Dinner 2009
Sir Chris Hoy helps raise vital funds for Friends of the Beatson
Last night, Thursday, 30 April, Friends of the Beatson held their 14th Annual Sporting Dinner at the Glasgow Hilton. The dinner was sponsored by Barclays Commercial Bank and raised £48,500. Sir Chris Hoy was the principal guest speaker.
The charity, which, since its formation in 1995, has raised over £1.5m, launched the unique Friends of the Beatson Centre in September 2007, part of the new Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre at Gartnavel. It aims to continue to raise funds to ensure the running, operation and development of the Centre remains at its optimum.
The Friends of the Beatson Centre, which cost £600,000 to construct and fit-out and is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, has been Friends of the Beatson's biggest and most rewarding achievement to-date and would not have been possible if their Annual Dinners were not such a success.
Last night's Dinner, once again hosted by the BBC's Brian Donald, saw 450 of Scotland's top business influencers gather for a formal sporting dinner to support the cancer charity. Two top speakers supported Sir Chris Hoy - Craig Brown, former Scottish football manager and Jeremy Hardy, stand-up comedian, broadcaster, author and after-dinner speaker.
Ian Dickson, chairman, Friends of the Beatson said:
"We are once again delighted by the generosity of all those who attended and contributed to the success of last night's Dinner."
"Thanks to our speakers for entertaining us so well, to Barclays Commercial Bank for sponsoring the Dinner and of course to our many supporters whose support enables us to continue with our work with cancer patients at the Beatson."
"We depend entirely on our fundraising activities and on donations which we receive and greatly appreciate."