Ladies Who Lead bring community together with Sanderson Center event

The Arnold Anderson Sport Fund has been helping kids find aa sport they love for more than 20 years.

And thanks to groups like Ladies Who Lead, the fund, named after the legendary Brantford broadcaster who died in 1999, will continue to help kids in need of a boost for generations to come. The fund is getting a share of the proceeds generated by presentation by Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser at the Sanderson Center on Tuesday.

Wickenheiser’s visit was organized by Ladies Who Lead, a local organization that seeks to build relationships and encourages women to work collaboratively rather than in competition.

“We’re so honored to have been named one of the beneficiaries of her presentation,” Gagne said. “The money we receive as a result of her appearance will help a lot of kids.

“We’re grateful to the work of Ladies Who Lead and appreciate the work they do in bringing the community together.”

The fund has helped 4,660 kids since it started in 2000 and provided $1.2 million in support.

“We had one young guy who was referred to us by a police officer,” Gagne recalled. “He was getting into trouble a lot but we got him enrolled in a football program and the next thing you know, he’s attending school and eventually graduates.

“Getting involved in team sports can be life-changing for a child and that’s what this fund does.”

Win made the comments during an event at Harmony Square, organized by the Anderson fund, that featured live entertainment and hockey-related activities.

Other organizations to benefit from the event include Brantford Girls’ Hockey Association, Brantford Minor Hockey and Brantford Community Hockey League.

The event at Harmony Square was held in conjunction with Wickenheiser’s appearance at Sanderson Center which attracted more than 900 people. An estimated 200 people attending the Harmony Square event.

The evening was especially memorable for Carling Ruddell, a 13-year-old hockey-playing Brantford resident. She got to meet Wickenheiser prior to the Olympian’s presentation and help out when Wickenheiser signed copies of her best-selling book Over the Boards.

“I was thrilled when I heard that I was going to meet Hayley,” Ruddell said. “She’s my hockey hero.”

Another highlight of the evening saw former Six Nations Elected Chief Ava Hill and Sofia Smith, a young Six Nations hockey player present an Indigenous hockey stick to Wickenheiser. Hill also welcomes guests to the Sanderson Center at the start of the program.

A four-time Olympic gold medalist, Wickenheiser also led the Canadian women’s national hockey team to seven world championships.

The author of Over the Boards: Lessons from the Ice, Wickenheiser was Canada’s official flag bearer at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and was inducted into Canada’s Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. She retired in 2017 after 23 years with the women’s national team and enrolled in medical school becoming a physician in 2021.

Wickenheiser was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018 and became the team’s assistant general manager in 2022.

During her presentation, Wickenheiser shared stories about her years with the national team including the disappointment of winning silver medal not gold in at the Nagano Olympics in 1998.

The team rebounded to win four Olympic gold medals in a row including the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi.

In the year leading up to the Sochi Olympics the team was beset with injuries, not playing well and losing a lot of games.

The team was beset with injuries and was not playing well and losing a lot of games in the lead-up to Sochi, Wickenheiser said.

Turning the team around involved creating a new team culture and leadership.

Sometime leadership is from the front, pulling people forward while other times it’s leading from the back while other voices take charge.

Wickenheiser also shared stories about her medical training and her journey to becoming a physician. She recalled how, an effort to collect personal protective gear on social media got a boost from Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds and, as a result, became an overwhelming national success in a short period of time.

She concluded her presentation by speaking about the importance of mentorship and pressure.

“Pressure is a privilege,” Wickenheiser said. “If you’re put in a position where you’re feeling a lot of pressure, remember you’re there because someone believes in you, that you’re the person to get the job done.”

Wickenheiser said she would never have had the success in hockey or in medicine if not for the many mentors she has had in life beginning with her parents.

There have been many coaches, teachers and players who, at various times, have given her the boost she needed to persevere.

“If you have a chance to be a mentor do it,” Wickenheiser said. “You can help change a life.”

The event also featured a fireside chat with Wickenheiser and local Olympians marathoner Krista DuChene and sledge ice hockey player Garrett Riley and Const. Paulette Breau, of the RCMP.

Shannon McMannis, founder of Ladies Who Lead, was pleased with the support the event received from the community.

“That’s what we’re all about – building relationships and building community,” McMannis said.

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