Vaughn Wyant was one of six dealership owners selected from 12,000 Ford dealerships globally for Ford’s Salute to Dealers award announced on January 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The winners received $10,000 from Ford to donate to a local charity of their choosing. Three American (Plainville, Connecticut; Gastonia, North Carolina; Sebring, Florida) and three international companies (Auckland, New Zealand; Usak, Turkey; and of course, Saskatoon, Canada) were selected for the award.
What is Ford’s Salute to Dealers Award?
The Salute to Dealers is a Ford Motor Company program that honours dealership owners that, not only provide outstanding products and services but also extraordinary support to the communities in which they are in. The Salute to Dealers program was launched in 2001 and has been going strong ever since.
Dedicated to making Saskatoon a better place to live
Vaughn has been referenced as having a “crazy love affair with the city”. The proof of his love for the city of Saskatoon is in the way in which he strives to leave it better than he found it. When it comes to his family’s philosophy of giving back, the Wyants (obvious hockey fans) have developed what they call a modified Gordie Howe hat trick: attaining a goal, assisting those in need, and fighting for the community. (For those that aren’t that familiar with hockey, a hat trick, is when a player scores three goals in a game.)
In winning the Salute to Dealers award, Vaughn (and the Wyant group) was recognized for noteworthy philanthropic efforts. Wyant and his family have raised money for multiple causes in the community, recent notable efforts include:
The family raised more than $2 million for the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan (now Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation). Vaughn worked with the Wheels of Dreams team, as well as Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed, and others who worked together to build and sell a custom Ford Model T at the Barrett Jackson Collector Car Event. The Snakebit F-100 raised $450,000 for the Jim Pattison’s Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Before the Children’s Hospital of Saskatchewan project was underway, Saskatchewan was one of the only provinces or territories in Canada without a children’s hospital. The Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital of Saskatchewan is scheduled to open in 2019.
The Wyant family donated $1 million to the Remai Modern Art Gallery’s capital fundraising campaign. The Remai Modern Art Gallery is set to be a world class art gallery in Saskatoon’s River Landing area. The facility will have multiple functions and uses including: art museum that offers community and rental spaces, a restaurant, free atrium and gallery, and learning center for all ages. The gallery will feature more than 8,000 pieces in the permanent collection. Remai’s galleries will show off local, national and international modern pieces and is set to open in 2017.
Vaughn and the Wyant Group donated $500,000 to the University of Saskatchewan’s Home Ice Campaign. The funds raised for the new rink project help develop a twin hockey-pad multi-purpose facility named Merlis Belsher Place that will be situated next to the Saskatoon Field House. This facility will replace the University of Saskatchewan’s 87-year-old Rutherford Rink. The rinks will be used by both U of S Huskies hockey teams, Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association, and Campus Recreation. A gymnasium will also be built for training with locker rooms that will be used by the U of S basketball, volleyball and soccer teams.
Vaughn made a significant contribution to the Friendship Inn’s capital campaign to build a new facility to serve hot meals to men, women and children living in poverty in the community. The Friendship Inn is a community centre that offers people breakfast, lunch, a family worker, information, child tutoring, parenting classes and more. The Friendship Inn is proud to offer two nutritious meals every day of the year and serves between 1 to 200 meals each day at breakfast and around 400 to 1000 meals for lunch.
Video: 2017 Salute to Dealers – Vaughn Wyant
Check out the video from Ford’s Salute to Dealers program featuring Vaughn and his significant contributions to the community of Saskatoon.
For more information about the program, check out Ford’s Salute to Dealers Program website.