EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is part of a new BurlingtonToday series — 'THIS IS BURLINGTON' — that showcases the people, places, organizations and businesses that make our city so special. Click HERE to read every story in the series, which will run throughout the month of November.
Everyone in Burlington seems to know Gil Verwey. Or maybe more accurately, Gil Verwey seems to know everyone in the city.
The owner of Verwey Automotive since 2006, the tall 56-year-old native of Burlington is a common sight at sports fundraisers of all kinds.
Sit down with him at Hector’s, the Burlington Oldtimers Hockey Club pub, or at a fundraising dinner, or after a game in the dressing room, and he’ll
tell you stories.
Like the time he was celebrating a Blackhawks win with dozens of fans at a Chicago bar, including Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, who took care of
everyone’s tab the entire night.
Or when he snuck out at midnight onto the first and 18th holes of the historic Old Course at midnight last June in Scotland’s St Andrews Golf Club to hit florescent golf balls from the tees before the police intervened.
Just don’t ask him about the speed bump episode on a Zamboni.
But it isn’t all fun and games for Verwey. He and his partner Rahnee Howe have been together six years. When a hereditary disease necessitated Verwey undergoing a kidney transplant a in December 2020, the new organ came from Rahnee. Shoulder surgery cost him most of the 2022-23 oldtimers season but he’s now back on the ice.
His improved health after the transplant led to him buying Brant Transmission in April.
“Since the kidney transplant, I’ve felt good, so I thought, what the hell, it’s a good opportunity,” he said.
Verwey has played on Burlington Oldtimers Hockey Club teams for 21 years, is a golf fanatic, and is one of the few mechanics with a Burlington Golf and
Country Club membership.
It’s his various fundraising and volunteering endeavours that make him a familiar name in Burlington. He left the city as a teen but soon returned.
“I was so much smarter than my mother and everyone else at age 16,” says Verwey sarcastically.
He hit the road, finishing his high school studies in Gravenhurst before venturing west to Victoria and Edmonton for a few years. He returned home
in the late ’80s. He started Verwey Automotive with one bay, which was OK because he was the lone mechanic.
As the business grew, his off-time hours were often filled when his daughter Brianne started playing hockey. Verwey coached with the Barracudas,
serving 14 years on the league board, including three as president.
A Zamboni he purchased sits outside his Mainway business for advertising purposes, but is most popular as a fundraiser at the annual Burlington
Santa Claus parade, when BOHC members collect donations while escorting the ice resurfacer through the parade route.
“Gil always gets involved in community activities,” says Gunther Kaschuba, parade committee member and a former chair of the event. “He rarely says
no when asked to help out.”
And BOHC members appreciate Verwey’s practice of purchasing many of the club’s tournament-fundraising tickets, particularly in the division he
plays in.
“Traditionally every year during January and February for anyone spending money at (Verwey Automotive) I would donate the tickets,” says Verwey.
“When I was moved to the green division the first thing I was told was, ‘You’re doing the tickets this year.’”
The annual golf tournament is now a 10-year tradition held on Mother’s Day weekend for BOHC members. It has raised more than $80,000 in that time, with Verwey crediting cohorts Al Hale, Paul Ivey, Brad Riddell and newbie Dave MacFarlane for much of its success.
“The numbers are down since COVID,” says BOHC referee-in-chief Mike Veerman, who helps manage the financial books for the club. “But it
brought in about $5,000 this year. And, he’s probably the biggest seller of fundraising tickets at the club.”
Verwey is also busy organizing or participating in other activities, whether it be running a men’s member/guest tournament at BGGC or advocating for
kidney donations with Rahnee. He tries to visit his daughter Brianne in Alberta three or four times a year and loves his golf outings.
All of his fundraising and volunteerism has one thing in common: Burlington.
“The people are great, and I like the location,” he laughs, deflecting a reference to his good deeds. “It’s a sports fan’s delight.”
