Bernard Lord Will Get Roasted At An Arthritis Society Fundraiser
MONCTON – The CEO of Medavie Blue Cross and former New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord will be “roasted” for the first time in his life on November 28.
It’s part of an event to raise at least $125,000 for the Arthritis Society, a national health charity aimed at alleviating the suffering of people affected by arthritis through research, advocacy and innovative solutions.
Lord, who was also President and CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunication Association, will be on stage, withstanding jabs and jokes from colleagues, family, friends and he even expects political foes and allies, for about half an hour.
He says he may regret the “moment of weakness” when he decided to allow himself to be roasted. He’s expecting people to take aim at his decisions and personality quirks.
“I think we’re going to cover different aspects of my life from political to other professional life, friends, family. So I’ll get attacked from all sides,” he said, laughing. “I feel like the old Seinfeld episode where worlds collide towards Costanza.”
“But really, seriously, I’m looking forward to the roast. I think it should be fun.”
The event is organized by the Greater Moncton Gives Back initiative, a group set up in 2016 by BrainWorks Marketing founding partners David Hawkins and wife Lorrie, Brad and Jessica Lamb-Leblanc, and Lord and wife Diane. Medavie is the presenting sponsor of the event and BrainWorks Marketing is a founding sponsor.
The group came together initially to raise funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Moncton, which was struggling financially. It has since also fundraises for Moncton Headstart and the Atlantic Wellness Centre. Overall, it has raised more than $700,000.
Businesses and groups including BMO, RBC, Stewart McKelvey, EY, Bell Alliant, Grant Thornton, the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Moncton, and others are also backing the event.
Food and beverages for the event will also be donated by restaurants including Barolo & Co, Blue Olive, Dairy Queen, Gusto, Piatto, St. James Gate and the Windjammer.
Lord may not have been on the receiving end of the jokes before, but he had roasted Dieppe Mayor Yvon Lapierre a few years ago.
“That year there were so many potholes in the city. They were rebuilding the major arteries in Dieppe. And I came on stage with a real life shock absrober, and I said this is the shock absorber of my car that I lost getting here,” he said. “So adding things like that, that’s what I expect people would do to me.”
Lord doesn’t know yet exactly who will be roasting him, but once he knows, he says he’ll prepare rebuttals.
“One I find out who the roasters are, i’ll do a little bit of research on everyone who’s gonna roast me. So, we’ll have a nice rebuttal,” he said.
While the Arthritis Society has been holding its Celebrity Roast events since 1989, this is the first one to take place in Moncton.
The approximately two-hour event will also highlight 13-year-old Kenzie Fleiger, from Westcock, NB, as this year’s arthritis hero, someone personally connected to arthritis who can speak to the work the society undertakes.
The event will take place at the Dieppe Arts and Culture Centre. Tickets are $150 each or $250 for two.