Involvement in the local community has proven to be rewarding in many ways for Gus Brown Buick GMC
Gus Brown (left) and Denis Ayotte (far right) pose with cheque for the R.S. McLaughlin Regional Cancer Centre, as a result of monies raised during the 2011 Gus Brown Golf Classic.
Gus Brown has been a General Motors dealer in Whitby for 41 years. During that time he’s seen many changes. Yet despite achieving success as one of the top ranking GM dealers in Canada in terms of volume, as well as being a multiple winner of both the President’s Triple Crown and Jack Smith Award, perhaps among his biggest achievements has been a strong presence in the local community.
“We believe that being active in local programs and providing an opportunity to give back is hugely important,” says Brown. Among the initiatives in which the dealership has gotten involved with, include the Heroes of Hope Campaign, United Way, Durham Regional Crime Stoppers, as well as ProAction Cops and Kids and Whitby/Oshawa Community Living programs.
GOLF CLASSIC
One of the biggest individual events, is the annual Gus Brown Golf Classic, now in its 18th year. “It started out as a day for our employees and their families,” says Denis Ayotte, the dealership’s vice president and Gus Brown’s son-in-law. The Golf Classic has since grown to become a major annual charity event. “In 2003 we decided to expand the tournament and bring sponsors on board to raise money for local charities,” says Ayotte. “In the first year, we raised $25,000.” Today the annual total is over $125,000, the proceeds of which go to benefit three local initiatives. These include the Whitby Hospital Foundation’s “Buy a Bed,” campaign as well as the Oshawa Hospital Foundation Drive 4 Dollars and the R.S. McLaughlin Durham Regional Cancer Centre.
Besides the Golf Classic, Gus Brown provides funding support for Durham Regional Crime Stoppers, in which Denis is also a committee member, plus ProAction Cops and Kids, as well as sponsorship for Epilepsy Ontario and the Grandview Children’s Centre.
The dealership’s participation in local community programs are extensive and include charity bed races in support of the Whitby Hospital Foundation.
FOR ALL ABILITIES
Furthermore, Gus Brown has also been actively involved raising money for the Abilities Centre, a state-of-the-art 125,000 sq.ft. community centre designed for children and adults of all ages and all abilities. “It’s a $40 million project funded with contributions from the federal and provincial governments, as well as the town of Whitby, the Region of Durham plus individual donors like us. It was designed to provide members of our community somewhere to go where they can exercise, train and socialize. It’s grown to become a central hub to Whitby and Durham Region, providing opportunities for all and we’re proud to be associated with it.”
In fact, it is partly because of taking an active role in the community for many years (besides the initiatives mentioned Gus Brown supports local sports teams via sponsorships both in Whitby and also Port Perry), that much of the dealership’s business has come from word of mouth. “We really don’t do a great deal of promotional advertising,” says Ayotte, “many of our customers have been through referrals and we’ve been able to build a solid, loyal base.” As a result, when tragedy struck and the dealership suffered a major fire on July 11, one which almost gutted the building, the community rallied around Gus Brown, providing chairs, replacement equipment and fundraising drives to help the business recover. “We cannot tell you how much it meant to us,” says Ayotte. “It was really touching to know that people just wanted to help, to see us get back on our feet.” The fire might have proved a setback but a good dealer while sometimes down, is never out. “We thought about cancelling this year’s Golf Classic,” says Ayotte “but in the end we had a buffet put on at the Oshawa club, 144 golfers came out to play and we were still able to raise more than $100,000.” As they say, the show must go on.
