A celebrity hockey tournament raised more than $500,000 for the Uxbridge Hospital Foundation, thanks largely to generous car dealerships and auto retail suppliers.
Jim Williamson
The idea was started by Jim Williamson, Dealer Principal/Partner of Williamson Chrysler in Uxbridge and General Manager/Partner of Williamson Chrysler in Lindsay. Williamson is Chair of the Uxbridge Hospital Foundation and was asked two years ago to Chair the hospital’s redevelopment campaign to help with a financial drive to build a new hospital.
Through a friendship with Jackson Events, which does numerous charity functions involving professional hockey players and celebrities, Williamson pitched the idea to the foundation of organizing the hockey tournament. The goal was to raise $350,000, but the popularity of the event raised $502,326 through donations and merchandise sales.
Williamson raised more than $56,000, while his team, Williamson Warriors, collected more than $100,000. The teams that raised the most money had priority for selecting the NHL players to be part of their squads.
Williamson told Canadian auto dealer that when word spread about the tournament, it led to other industry connections getting involved for the good of the community. The list of dealerships and vendors included Boyer Automotive Group, WEINS Automotive Group, Stouffville Toyota, CARFAX, Sym-Tech Dealer Services, SiriusXM, Lubrico, RBC Automotive, and taq Automotive Intelligence.
“It’s a really small town event that turned into something much, much more just based on local businesses and then the auto family that jumped on board as well,” said Williamson. He also noted that the Foundation originally had a goal of raising $150,000 for the tournament in its first year, but it just took off.
“I would tell you it’s the right community with the right support behind it, and the industry helping spread the word,” said Williamson, who added the tournament is scheduled to be repeated annually for five years.
Among the retired NHL players who participated were Toronto Maple Leafs’ Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour and Gary Roberts. Clark was picked first overall by the Williamson Warriors.
