Submitted by Shirley Pilton, October 13, 2022, VOL. 4 ISSUE 4

Mayor Wayne Redekop, at the Fort Erie Golf Club Ladies League’s Annual Banquet, spoke to an audience of 150 women golfers, paying tribute to Wendy Gibson and honouring her as a member of our Niagara community to be celebrated for all she has done and continues to do. 

Wendy Gibson has been instrumental in growing the game of golf for women and in working voluntarily to raise money to fund local initiatives that help people in the community and for the Hat of Hope program that provides the Walker Family Cancer Center and McMaster Children’s Hospital Cancer Care with hats for patients undergoing Chemotherapy.   

Wendy’s phenomenal efforts in developing a Ladies League that is welcoming to all types of golfers has grown the Fort Erie Golf Club’s League from a handful of ladies in the early 2000s to close to 200 members today. Wendy has created a roster of innovative weekly games and contests and ladies look forward to their play on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Unique to this Ladies League is the weekly Winner Board Wendy creates and distributes electronically to all players.  The countless hour’s Wendy devotes to making golf fun for all makes this League one of a kind, attracting ladies from all over the Niagara region.   Wendy also started a travel league “The Niagara Grasshoppers” six years ago. This League has grown to 60 Niagara area ladies who play different Courses in the Niagara Region every other Wednesday.

Wendy has given countless hours volunteering to raise money to buy hats for women with cancer. Several years ago Wendy was working at a retail store in Niagara on the Lake when a woman who had lost her hair due to treatments for cancer, came in to purchase a hat. It was obvious the lady wasn’t well enough to be out buying a hat while dealing with the challenges of her cancer treatments. Making it her mission to raise money to donate hats to the hospital, Wendy took her plan to the Fort Erie Kinettes Club of which she was a member at that time.  Through her coordination with Mad Cap Sportswear and the Hotel Dieu Hospital – Hat of Hope was born.

 Every summer, for the past 20 years, Wendy has run two very successful women’s golf tournaments in support of the Hat of Hope.  Each tournament accepts 160+ players and has a waiting list of women, all wanting to play their part in raising money to purchase designer hats for women, men, and children going through chemotherapy.  In 2011, The Queen of Clubs Charity, a non-profit that raises funds to help Fort Erie individuals and families who are emotionally or financially in need, became the oversight for the Hat of Hope.     

All hats are Canadian-made, and more than 800 hats have been distributed through the Walker Family Cancer Clinic in St. Catharines as well as Wellspring Niagara in Fonthill, at no cost to the patient.   The St. Catharines Walker Family Cancer Centre has dedicated a room to display the hats where patients can go and pick out a hat that suits their own personality and style. Wendy not only purchases the hats; she most often delivers them to the St. Catharines Hospital and Wellspring Niagara. She has, on occasion, delivered a hat personally to someone in need. The tournaments have raised tens of thousands of dollars with the ongoing goal of always having enough hats for every person undergoing chemotherapy.

Being a member of The Queen of Clubs, she helps organize monthly euchre tournaments. The proceeds go to individuals and families in Fort Erie who need help. The euchre tournament in December requires $5.00 and a pair of pyjamas for an entry fee. The pyjamas are then distributed to the Fort Erie Salvation Army for children in need.

Wendy was a key member of the Fort Erie Kinettes for approximately ten years and volunteered on many committees that benefited from her many talents, leadership, and organization skills.

Wendy is married to Larry Gibson, and they have just celebrated twenty years as Owners of the Fort Erie Golf Club. They have four children and seven grandchildren. Wendy was actively involved with her children’s school, as well as their recreational activities when they were younger. Wendy not only volunteered on Parent Council; she was also President of the PTA (Parent, Teacher Association) at Garrison Road School. She also volunteered to read books in class to the younger children. She is still very involved with her family as the grandchildren are now involved in sports and enjoy the enthusiastic support of their parents and grandparents.

The time and dedication Wendy has given to the game of golf for women, and the countless hours and energy Wendy has put forth making this Ladies League such a success year after year has been instrumental in growing Women’s golf in the area if not the Province and maybe even the Country.  Wendy’s commitment to fundraising for local initiatives and the Hat of Hope program is noteworthy, and such a benefit to people living in Niagara.  

So the Niagara Region celebrates Wendy Gibson, a Woman whose work in the community has touched the lives of many and has grown the game of golf for Women.