Ottawa Construction News staff writer
More than 400 members attended the thirty-seventh annual Kingston Construction Association (KCA) Annual Maritime Lobster Dinner in October – celebrating an annual tradition that transcends generations and has become one of the most important events in the association’s annual calendar.
KCA executive director Harry Sullivan said 45 volunteers worked to “pull this off” – including the kitchen team processing 1,800 pounds of Nova Scotia lobster, flown into Ottawa and delivered fresh to Kingston in time for the event.
The event raises funds for a variety of charities with a 50/50 draw and silent auction. The KCA is still calculating the total charitable contribution for this year’s dinner, and where the funds will be directed. (Last year, the event raised about $6,000, which was contributed to three local food banks, Clothes for Kids, and other charities.)
Sullivan says the event “sells out very early.”
“Some of the guests are members who are sponsors, many treat it as a networking opportunity to see their fellow members after hopefully a busy construction season, and others treat it as an employee recognition event, and have 10 to 15 of their employees join them at the table to eat a lot of seafood.”
The event started in 1977, when four of the association’s original members (the KCA was incorporated in 1950) decided to organize the evening, which in earlier years, “lasted into the early morning hours.”
Today, it continues as a solid evening’s gastronomic entertainment and Sullivan says “the tribute should be dedicated to the event’s volunteers and conveners.”
“It runs like clockwork,” he said.
