Honouring Mr. Karel Velan

    Karel Velan was born in 1918 in Ostrava. With a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering, he fled Communist Czechoslovakia, with his wife, Olga, and their two young sons arriving in Montreal in 1949. They have three sons,12 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren. He founded Velan Inc. in 1950 and is the CEO. His family, the company, and the Velan Foundation have donated generously to many charity projects in Canada and the Czech Republic.

Almost every year, the Velan Foundation presents an award to an individual for exceptional work in human development in foreign countries. Mr. Velan was involved in setting up and is a large benefactor of La Rue des Femmes in Montreal, a community-based organization providing assistance to homeless women and women in difficulty. He has been praised for his many outstanding contributions to make.

 

Soirée Committee Members

Phil Belec
Annemarie Bertrand
Mel & Rosemary Hoppenheim
Amanda Jelowicki - Dunn
Chantal Marquis
Eddy Miller
Sophie Palmer
Ginger Petty
Shirley Quantz
Laura Santini
Jinder Sall, MD
Sandra & Leonard Schlemm
Marc Villeneuve

Action Centre Board of Directors

Ginger Petty
Chairperson and Philanthropist

Peter Cohen
Vice Chairperson, Action Centre member and former
business executive

Brian Casey-Forget
Secretary - Lawyer-Heenan Blakie

Zygmunt Marcinski C.A
Treasurer - President, Capital Ideas

George Farah CPA

Audrey Hamilton
Action Centre member and former
surgical nurse - Montreal Children’s Hospital

Daniel Jarry
Action Centre member and former
printing equipment sales executive

Dominic Lacasse
Novartis Pharmaceuticals

Julie Perreault
Constance Lethbridge Rehabilitation Center

Jinder Sall, MD
Family Practitioner

Harriett Sandell
Action Centre member and former
teacher

Seymour Silverman
Action Centre member and former
videographer - CTV

Lori Yersh
Director of Fundraising and Stewardship Programs
McGill University