Shenglin Xian | 咸生林 | Shenglin Financial Group Inc. | 咸氏金融| 500 attend Shenglin Financial glittering New Year gala

500 attend Shenglin Financial glittering New Year gala

Publish Date:

Thu, 2013-02-21 22:21

500 attend Shenglin Financial glittering New Year gala

-- Sen. Oh brings PM Harper’s greetings; MP Chow brings witty remarks--

In recent years, Shenglin Financial’s Chinese New Year Gala has been growing by leaps and bounds in size as well as in substance, much like China’s stunning GDP expansion. But this year was even more so: 500 guests swarmed to the posh Regal Chinese Cuisine & Banquet Hall—a five-star restaurant that looks regal and palatial. The banquet took place on Feb. 15, the sixth day after Chinese New Year Day which fell on Feb. 10 this year.

Not surprisingly, the huge turnout and the festive pageantry were a pleasant surprise for many dignitaries attending the glittering event. MP John McCallun, for one, spoke tongue-in-check: “Next year we may have to move to Air Canada Center.” A joke, of course, but not too far-fetched. In the past, Chinese New Year banquets were much smaller in scale and were often held in run-of-the-mill eateries. Few guests would have expected this kind of pomp and luxury.

The evening was full of pleasant surprises. Senator Victor Oh, who was sworn in only 10 days earlier, attended the gala with his lovely wife Rosa. The newly anointed senator, who was immensely popular among the eclectic ethic Asian community, told the audience that the prime minister has mandated him to do three things: job creation, economic growth, and long-term economic prosperity. Oh, a business leader and community volunteer for three decades, congratulated his host Mr. Xian Shenglin for his company’s rapid growth that he said benefits Canada’s economic prosperity. He also brought Mr. Harper’s personal greetings to the gala.

Another shining political star attending the gala was MP Oliva Chow, widow of the late NDP leader Jack Layton who was the Parliament’s official Leader of Opposition before his passing two years ago. Oliva, a long-serving Toronto City Councilor before entering national politics in Ottawa, is regarded as the best candidate for mayor of Toronto in the 2014 mayoral election. MP Oliva was both witty and charismatic, telling the audience that “I may need to change my financial adviser after learning that Shenglin Financial registered a whopping 30% growth in 2012.” Her remarks nearly brought the house down.

There were also serious moments, however. Mr. Xian Shenglin, the host, told his guests that his company won the coveted honor of No. One in 2012 among London Life’s affiliated firms across Canada in production. That is, the national sales champion of one of the country’s oldest and most-trusted life insurance companies. Mr. Xian said he has always been firm in his conviction that to succeed and excel in his trade, he and his company must “merge into the mainstream,” because “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.” It is important to adapt and to learn from the mainstream industry, he said.

Another sober moment came from the night’s keynote speaker: Dr. Peter Lin, a physician who looks and talks more like a thinker than a medical doctor. Dr. Lin told the audience that in today’s world, knowledge is money. Know-how holds the key. But therein lies the rub: where to get the knowledge which he said is the key to success? His answer: never stop learning. All the times. All your life.

The gala was a feast to the body and soul. It was a non-stop cascading of fun and reveling, thanks to a colorful artistic entertainment program featuring a fashion show and musical performances provided by some of the city’s best singers and instrument players. Of course, no Chinese New Year gala would be complete without the indispensable lucky draw because it’s the best time to test your luck at the beginning of the lunar year, with eye-popping prizes galore.

But no party would last forever. Happier time flies faster, as the evening’s two emcees— vivacious TV celeb Leslie Yip and wisecracking Mu Ran—reminded the guests. The curtains finally fell after the grand prize, a huge flat-panel TV donated by Mr. Xian, was drawn and won by a lucky guest amidst a chorus of cheers and sighs from the crowd. So, bye-bye the Year of the Dragon; Hello the Year of the Snake!

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