Your Stories

Sherry Middaugh

Volunteer, Donor, and Curl with the Pros Champion

“We wanted to contribute to something that would stay in the community and looked at what the biggest need might be in our area. The events that we have put on over the years attract the community because they’re fun and practical. The fundraising, that’s the fun part!”       – Sherry Middaugh

Sherry and Wayne Middaugh have spent the past 20 years simultaneously building extremely successful curling careers on the national and international stages. They have also established themselves in the Midland community, where they live with their two daughters, Emily and Kelly. They are proud of the community they live in and have worked hard to ensure that this community remains at its healthiest.

Best known for her career as a pro-curler, Sherry is a five-time Ontario curling champion and four-time bronze medalist at the Canadian Championships. But, here at home, she has also put her strategic vision to work in support of the Georgian Bay General Hospital Foundation.

Sherry is responsible for spearheading the event, Curl with the Pros, a fundraiser that completed ten successful years in 2014. The event began in 2004, each year bringing out an overwhelming number of participants from the community, while also taking GBGH to a national stage.

In ten years, Sherry’s Curl with the Pros event raised over $200,000 in support of annual equipment needs at GBGH! In 2012, the fundraiser generated the funds to purchase four new hospital beds; in 2013, a new treatment room in the Emergency Department; and in its last year, raised funds for six patient controlled pain pumps.

On top of Curl with the Pros, Sherry and her husband Wayne have been organizing an annual golf tournament at the Midland Golf and Country Club. This fantastic event has raised $390,000 since 2001!

We want to say THANK YOU to Sherry and Wayne Middaugh for the incredible gifts of time and support given to the GBGH Foundation.

Industrial Filter Manufacturing

Anyone who has ever suffered a medical emergency – either personally or with a child or other loved one – knows the importance of having a well-equipped emergency department close by. Just imagine for a moment what it would be like if there was no Emergency Department on our doorstep.

The staff and management at Industrial Filter Manufacturing in Penetanguishene know that Georgian Bay General Hospital is a vital part of our healthy community; after all we rely on it being there when we need it. But our hospital also needs our help to keep up with increasing demands.

The hospital has implemented efficient “Lean Management” streamlining practices; they not only provide patients with a high level of care, but significantly reduced wait times to become a leader among Ontario hospitals. Of the 151 hospital emergency departments in Ontario, our hospital consistently ranks in the top five for shortest wait times. What makes it even more remarkable is that this was accomplished during a period of tough budget constraints, without incurring a deficit.

But even “Lean Management” has its limits. With a growing and aging population, the pressure on our Emergency Department continues to escalate – as does the expense associated with providing the exceptional care our community has come to expect. The need for expansion is obvious, but government funding does not cover the cost of equipment or capital projects. That’s why the lion’s share of the price of the planned Emergency Department redevelopment and expansion must come from the community.

The staff at IFM believes this is an investment worth making. We feel that our community needs to take ownership of our own health care system, and that businesses and employees must step up to the plate to ensure the services are here when we need them. We believe this so strongly, that IFM has challenged our employees to invest in our hospital by contributing to the Georgian Bay General Hospital Foundation. IFM will then match those contributions, dollar for dollar.

We are encouraging all local businesses – large or small – to make the same commitment.

Hopefully you will never need to visit the Emergency Department at GBGH. But if you do, wouldn’t it be comforting to know that we worked together to build and equip a new Emergency Department that will be there to provide exceptional emergency care if and when needed?

IFM has been established in Huronia since 1990. With 25 employees and a focus on innovative manufacturing techniques, the company supplies filtration products to sea water desalination plants in the middle east, oil and gas facilities in Alberta, automotive plants in Europe and power generating stations in India to name a few. In total, its products, made in Penetanguishene, are shipped to 25 countries on every continent including Antarctica.

Company Vice President Kyle Naylor believes their products can easily compete with the best in the world, while company president Dan Williams knows that the information age we live in affords opportunities that didn’t exist 25 years ago. “You can have a Skype conference with a customer in Asia, e-mail a customer in Spain and check of an order status in Toronto, all before your second morning coffee,” he notes.

They both feel that Georgian Bay General Hospital has the same opportunities for success.

For more information about the Community Employee Giving Program, please contact Nicole Kraftscik at 705-526-GIVE (4483) or kraftscikn@gbgh.on.ca.