Bestbuy Makes Solid Contribution to Sick Kids, Names FAG Supplier of the Year

Bestbuy Distributors Limited continued its tradition of contributing to the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, this year presenting a cheque for $18,000.

The donation was announced during its annual dinner and trade show in Toronto.

More than 80% of shareholders from across Canada attended the events, with more than 200 shareholder and supplier personnel attending the dinner events.

This $18,000 contribution to what is now the Labatt Family Heart Centre brings the total contributions to the program to $645,000 over the past 25-plus years.

Accepting the cheque on behalf of the centre was Dr. Robert Hamilton who thanked the group for being the longest standing supporters of the centre and offered his insight into the impact that even small donations make:

“Years ago, in the mid-90s, I took about $5,000 of this money and worked on a project. The next year the hospital was looking for projects that had pilot data and they gave me another $20,000. About two years later a British foundation gave me $99,000. Another two years later, the Heart and Stroke Foundation gave me $150,000. And two years ago, almost three years ago now, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research gave $2.5 million.

“And all that started with $5,000 of donated money that helped us get a little bit of pilot data that showed what we could do.”

The dinner also served as the venue to present the Horace J. Pratt Award for supplier of the year, which this year went to FAG bearings.

“Every year the Bestbuy shareholders vote for one of our vendors who goes over and above the normal call of service support of the programs and everything else we do,” said Bestbuy chair Dale Devlin.

“Forty-four years in the automotive aftermarket and this is the fist one of these I have every received so thank you very much,” said Rodger Brintnell of Schaeffler Canada, suppliers of FAG bearings.

“Andy and Kim have done a lot of work to promote our program to get it to where it is today. I’d especially like to thank all the shareholders. I know it has been a lot of effort and a lot of work to get yourselves and your installers to change.”