Western to honour Golden Olympian Marnie McBean at 10th Annual Rowing Gala
Three-time Olympic Gold Medallist and Western Mustang alumna Marnie McBean will be honoured as part of the festivities at the 10th Annual Western Rowing Gala this Saturday, March 1 at 5 pm. at The Great Hall on the Western University campus.
The gala will feature inductions into the Mustang Rowing team’s Wall of Excellence as well as live music and remarks from both McBean and David McCann, a former award-winning Mustang football player. Also that evening, Western will be announcing the establishment of the Heather Cartwright Coaching Excellence Fund, created through a gift from Heather Cartwright, Western alumna and former varsity rower, in combination with other generous contributions. This fund will enable Western to support a highly qualified and dedicated assistant rowing coach for each of the next five years to further build and strengthen the rowing team.
Members of the media are invited to join us for this very special event as we hear from Mustangs of years past and announce an exciting development for the future of the program. Bios on both guest speakers are available below.
WHAT: 10th Annual Western Rowing Gala
WHO: Marnie McBean, OC, BA’97, LLD’03
Marnie rowed at Western and was awarded the F.W.P. Jones trophy for the female athlete who has made the greatest contribution to intercollegiate athletics within the university. She has earned three Olympic gold medals, has been inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, and is an Officer of the Order of Canada. Marnie’s Olympic involvement also includes mentoring the Canadian Olympic team and serving as a rowing commentator on national television.
WHO: David S. McCann, BA’82, MA’84, MBA’86
David is the Managing Director of The Carlyle Group and the head of relationship investing at the Canadian Pension Plan investment board. David was a star athlete during his time at Western, winning a purple blanket for his contributions to the football team, and is a past recipient of the Dr. Claude Brown trophy, the male counterpart to Marnie’s F.W.P. Jones trophy.
WHO: Western University alumni, team members, friends and family
WHEN: Saturday, March 1, 2014, Reception at 5:00pm, Program at 6:00pm
WHERE: The Great Hall, Somerville House, Western University
MEDIA CONTACT: Tony von Richter, Communications and Media Relations, Western Mustangs, Office: 519-661-2111 ext. 83089, Cell: 519-709-1858, tvonrich@uwo.ca
