The Record & Booklet Was Produced
With the Generous Support of
The Czech company GZ MEDIA GROUP is the largest vinyl record manufacturer in the world. It has 8 production plants worldwide, including Company Headquarters in Loděnice, Czech Republic (approx. half an hour south-west of Prague), Precision Record Pressing in Burlington, Ontario, Memphis Record Pressing and Nashville Record Pressing in the United States, and GZ SNA Tourouvre in France. GZ Media has more than 2,700 employees. It produces about 165,000 records per day, which amounts to almost 50 million records a year. Annual sales reach USD 160 million. The company was founded in 1951. GZ in its name stands for Gramofonové Závody, which translates to Gramophone Record Factory.
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Partners
Over the 40 years since this company’s inception as Diemaco, Canada’s Centre of Excellence for Small Arms, Colt Canada has established itself as a world-class manufacturer. Colt’s products have been battle-tested and proven through jungle mud, arctic snow and ice, desert sands and extreme battlefield conditions. The reliability of these Canadian born rifles, carbines, machine-guns and grenade launchers are second to none.
In 2021, Colt Canada has become a member of the Česká zbrojovka – CZ Group, now called Colt CZ Group. Česká zbrojovka – CZ has been the largest Czech exporter to North America. Apart from having strong automotive and aero divisions, it has been also the largest Czech company specializing in the development and manufacture of handguns and one of the world’s largest producers in this field.
The Colt CZ Group is the most recent, prime example of the close Czech-Canadian partnership in business and defense. The arms base of the First Czechoslovak Republic was built under the motto: “A weapon in the hands of courageous defenders is the best guarantee of the nation’s freedom!” Since then, the company has remained committed to helping protect freedom and democracy, unfortunately, in an increasingly dangerous world. As members of one Group, CZ and Colt Canada serve as partners of Czech, Canadian and other nation’s armed forces and police.
Together with his wife Dana, Tom Velan continues the legacy of his father Karl Velan in philanthropy. Until recently, Tom Velan served as the successor of his father holding the position of the head of Velan Inc. company, in which he continues to act as Director and Advisor.
After the communists seized power in Czechoslovakia in 1948, Tom Velan with his parents Karel and Olga Velan and brother In 1949, they settled in Montreal where his father founded Velan Engineering Ltd. and soon patented a revolutionary bimetallic steam trap. This was only the first of his many successful patents. At an impressive pace, the company grew into a world leader in industrial valves employing 1900 people in 9 countries, on three continents. Karel Velan’s inventions and products were to be found on submarines, aircraft carriers, in the oil and chemical industry, in mines, nuclear power plants, and even space shuttles. As an amateur astrophysicist, he developed a unique theory of the origin of the universe, described in a book called “The Multi-Universe Cosmos, The First Complete Story of the Origin of the Universe,” which was received with a wide expert interest. Karel Velan ranked among the 100 most famous Canadians. During the Cold War, he emphasized that he never left his homeland, only the communists did not allow him to return. His major involvement in philanthropy reached far beyond Czech related initiatives. In 1981, he e.g. instituted the Montréal Rotary Club Velan award to acknowledge Canadians for exceptional humanitarian work abroad. He also founded the Velan Foundation and the Velan Foundation Award presented annually to a Canadian for „distinctive and outstanding humanitarian work overseas.” After the Velvet Revolution, he supported numerous projects in his homeland. Notable achievements include establishing of the Olga House for homeless women in cooperation with La rue des Femmes and serving as a founding member of the Olga Havel Foundation in the Czech Republic. In Brno, he created the Domov Olga as a skill center for people with special needs as well as a center for Roma children. He supported the Czech Republic also as President of the Czech-Canadian Chamber of Commerce as well as co-founder of the Czech – North-American Chamber of Commerce in Washington. Mr. Velan received a well-deserved recognition both in the Czech Republic, i.a. as a Gratis Agit Award recipient, as well as Canada, i.a. as Chevalier de l‘Ordre national du Quebec and one of the great Rotarians of the century.
Czechvar honors the craft of brewing and understand the finest selection of ingredients as the ultimate essence of its beer. Good beer has been brewed in Bohemia since time immemorial. Therefore, when founding the city České Budějovice in Bohemia (Czech Republic) in 1265, the Czech king Přemysl Otakar II did not fail to grant to its burghers the brewing rights, i.e. the right for malting, brewing, storing and selling beer at their homes. The local beer became very famous for its high quality. In the course of the centuries, small home breweries were disappearing and the beer was brewed in larger facilities. In 1895, Český akciový pivovar was founded, whose current successor, B.B.N.P. brewery, carries on the local brewing tradition.
In North America, the beer is now sold under the trademark „Czechvar“, which is derived from „Czech“ for the Czech Republic and „var“ which means brew.
B.B.N.P. brewery lays emphasis on using the best ingredients: water drawn from 984 feet deep artesian wells located directly on the brewery´s premises, malt made from thoroughly selected Moravian barely, top-quality Saaz hops providing the beer with its typical slightly hoppy flavor. Exclusive 90-day long maturing period amplifies the beer’s exceptionality even more.
Czech minting has a history of more than a thousand years. The Czech lands were gifted not only with exceptional beauty, but also a wealth of silver. This silver was used by old craftsmen to make art that we admire to this day, and the Czech Mint is proud to continue in their tradition! We make not only all the circulating coins that jingle in Czech pockets, but also all Czech commemorative coins and many of our own commemorative and investment products from precious metals. Their designs carry a multitude of emotions and a thousand years of love for the craft…
We are proud to present special commemorative medals to the guests of honor of the Czech EU Presidency Gala in Ottawa.
CzechTourism, headed by Director Jan Herget, is a governmental agency, which promotes the Czech Republic as a tourist destination. Its US office, headed by Director Michaela Claudino, is located in New York.
Official Airline
LOT Polish Airlines is the flag carrier of Poland. Based in Warsaw and established in 1929, LOT is one of the fastest growing airlines in Europe. With a fleet of 75 aircraft, LOT offers convenient connections to over 100 destinations in Europe, North America, and Asia via its modern hub, Warsaw Chopin Airport. In 2019 alone, LOT – a Star Alliance Member – welcomed more than 10 million passengers on board of its planes.
LOT’s presence in Canada dates back to the 1970s when the Polish carrier launched the first non-stop charter flights from Warsaw to Toronto. Just before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, LOT carried over 200,000 passengers to and from Canada in 2019.
We are proud to be the second most popular carrier on the Toronto-Prague route and certainly hope to see more travelers choosing LOT for their travel needs to Czech Republic.
