Last night at the Kool Haus in Toronto, more than 450 media and advertising executives gathered for the glitzy annual fundraising gala for the National Advertising Benevolent Society (NABS). A live and silent auction, which sold everything from electronics to a trip to the Grammy Awards, pulled in over $200,000, while an improv troupe entertained the crowd.

At the event, dubbed ‘It’s a Mad Ad World,’ Zoom Media announced the renewal of its partnership with NABS and presented the organization with a cheque for $55,000 obtained through the donation of advertising sales from its Agency Network Fund. Zoom has donated over $600,000 over the last 12 years.

‘While 2009 was a challenging economic environment, several clients invested in the Agency Network and our donation to NABS increased by more than 35% this year thanks to them,’ says Andy Querin, president and COO, Zoom Media.

The event also honoured Mandrake CEO Stefan Danis with the Paul Mulvihill/NABS Humanitarian Award. With the overall target of raising $65,000 for NABS, in March, Danis raced through the Atacama Desert as a follow-up to his participation in the Gobi March in June 2009. His blog about the Atacama experience was posted on strategy online.

New inductees to the NABS Honour Roll, which highlights those who have contributed exceptional support in the formation and development of NABS, were also announced. This year’s honourees were Elena Dunn, director of sales, 24 Hours Vancouver; Dennis LeBlanc, operations manager, Business in Vancouver (BIV) Media Group; Ted Boyd, CEO/partner, 58Ninety; Bill Hearn, partner, McMillan LLP; Yvonne McKinnon, past NABS board member; and George Goulakos, former VP sales and marketing, CFCF/CTV Television, Montreal. Organizations inducted included Colour Innovations Printing, Eatertainment, Grenier aux nouvelles and Family Services Employee Assistance Programs (FSEAP).