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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

'Tis the season to get down and party

By: Miss Lonelyhearts

Posted: 12/21/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

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L-R Corrina Gutnik, Dr. Daniel Lindsay and Dr. Eric Stearns

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Wendy Cameron

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Lindsay Nelko

LOFT-Y MEDICAL BASH: Dr. Daniel Lindsay is a "go big or go home" kind of guy.

Saturday night, the well-known radiologist, who was named Physician of the Year 2012 by Doctors Manitoba, invited 300 of his closest friends and radiology-related colleagues from Winnipeg, Selkirk and far-flung parts of Manitoba to his three-storey loft for a Christmas par-tay. Some even flew in!

Quite a night on the fringe of the Exchange District. Picture this: Street and door security, party greeters, grand piano, bar, pool table, huge stereo system, catering by Sydney's with waiters running up and down steps with trays of food and drink, plus four hours of dancing with the Danny Kramer Event Band.

Lindsay estimated 150 people were rockin' it out on the main floor. "The next day 50 people phoned me to say it was great," he said. Personal friends were invited, but the doctor estimated 90 per cent of the guests were affiliated with health care. "We get to do some reflecting together on all the people we've helped in the course of the year," he said.

The adventurous radiologist did five tours in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2010, working as a diagnostic radiologist for Canadian soldiers in the hospital in Kandahar. Lindsay is also president-elect of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba.

Spotted at Lindsay's bash: Deputy Minister of Health Milton Sussman; president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, Dr. Bruce Kowaluk; past president Dr. Margaret Burnett; ex-CEO of Cargill Grain, Richard Dawson, now chairman of the college's program review committee. Also making the scene -- leather motorcycle clothing guru Guy Anthony, plus Dr. Bruce Martin, University of Manitoba associate dean of undergrad medical students; CEO of Diagnostic Services of Manitoba, Jim Slater; past president of Doctors Manitoba (formerly the Manitoba Medical Association) Dr. Margaret Speer; and Lindsay's secretary of 21/2 decades (she can even take shorthand), Angie Banman.

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DOING GOOD: Local musician Wendy Cameron, a singer with the Ron Paley Big Band, is trading her little black dress and high heels for long-sleeved shirts and mosquito netting, to volunteer in Kenya for two months after the holiday season is over. "It's a red zone out there now and not a lot of people are willing to go. These people need help. If everyone stays away, then what's the point of life?"

Cameron, 43, is going back to school to be a veterinarian after she returns to Canada. "I'm not trying to be a hero but I want to make my mother proud. She's gone now -- died at 54 of cancer -- but she was beautiful-hearted and taught me to give to people."

On Jan. 29, the singer flies out with the International Volunteer HQ program (IVHQ) which works in 18 countries sending 4,000 volunteers abroad annually to projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America (volunteerhq.org). If people want to help fund her, they can donate through the website gofundme.com and searching for her name.

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WINNIPEGGER AT X FACTOR: Catch the final X Factor with Simon Cowell and the gang this week? Winnipegger Lindsay Nelko was on the team choreographing the fancy dance moves for this last run of shows in Los Angeles.

Supervising producer Brian Friedman discovered Nelko five years ago at his Pulse Dance Convention in New York and has since been showcasing her work in the Big Apple, Toronto, Boston, Atlanta and Las Vegas. He recommended her to MSA Agency in L.A. and she is now properly signed.

"I am so grateful to X Factor and to Brian for giving me all these opportunities," she told yours truly from L.A. Nelko is the daughter of Shelley Shearer whose name graces a Winnipeg dance studio.

Got tips, events, sightings, unusual things going on? Call Maureen's tip line at 204-474-1116, email Maureen.Scurfield@Winnipegfreepress.com, or send letters to Maureen Scurfield c/o The Insider, 1355 Mountain Ave., R2X 3B6.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 21, 2012 B2

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