Shad's R&R Fundraiser: On the road to $10 million

As Shad's R&R Fundraiser 2026 is right around the corner, we're revisiting this episode from February 2026 with Shad's chair Charlie Grant. 

Shad's R&R is a cornerstone of Canada's aftermarket as a fundraiser for Muscular Dystrophy Research, attracting participation from across North America (and beyond) to its annual June event. Now, with a new chair in Charlie Grant, CEO of Grant Brothers Sales, it embarks on a new challenge as it looks forward to its 51st edition and sets its sights on a new goal for the future. For more informaition on how to get involved, visit ShadsRR.ca.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:11

The charitable function is the afternoon. Welcome to the podcast, everyone. I'm your host, Andrew Ross. Now, every year, uh, in the middle of the year in June, uh, one of the largest events to attract people from throughout North America to an aftermarket event in Canada is Shad's R. Shad's Remorse and Regret Charity Tournament. Last year was a real milestone where the 50th Shad's R hit six million dollars in total contributions and all the good that that goes to do in the healthcare field. But it was also a really uh pivotal year in another way. It was the year that that Brad Shaddock, son of founder Fred Shaddock, stepped away from the chairman's role and handed the, I don't know, the reins, the the golf club, to a new chair. The new chair, of course, with me today on the podcast is uh Charlie Grant. Uh welcome to the podcast, Charlie.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Thank you so much, Andrew.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Appreciate it. Now Charlie is uh CEO of Grant Brothers Sales, one of the most established and recognized uh sales organizations in in Canada and and beyond. Uh uh we're not gonna talk about that. We are gonna talk about what the 51st Shads R has in store for people. Uh and uh uh what can they look forward to uh this year? I mean, first of all, tell everybody a little bit about uh you know when it is and and what's going on so that uh people can uh save the date as it were.

SPEAKER_02 1:49

Absolutely. So it's June 11th. Um and uh no, we're so excited. Um we've dubbed this year the the road to 10 million. So the the goal for the Shad's organization reaching up to the 50th year, which was last year, obviously, uh, was to get to the six million dollar mark, uh, which we did with the generous support of everybody from the aftermarket. That that was just an incredible feat. Uh hundreds of thousands of dollars raised again for MD Canada. Uh it was wonderful. We will in turn won an award uh with MD Canada, uh which uh the board and I attended, which was fantastic. So, yeah, the road to 10 million, really what we want to do is uh my goal with Shad's RR this year is to kind of leverage the technology. It's kind of work smarter, not harder. And, you know, we've automated a lot of the processes, doing a lot more digital. Uh, I don't want to give too many spoilers away, but it's gonna be a really fun um kind of electric party. Uh the initial invite has gone out uh for everybody. And uh we're using a program called Golf Genius, which also um has an app. So you can download the app. We'll have live score tracking during the event. You register, yeah, you register through Golf Genius. You can put your team in there, change the team members, invite guests, et cetera, et cetera. So it's gonna be it's gonna be new and and fun and fresh. That's that's kind of what we're trying to accomplish.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Yeah, because I mean, you know, it is it it it it's always uh I mean, the golf comes second, obviously, to the fundraising and always has uh the fundraising and and frankly the networking. Uh but you know, people like to know where they stand too. For sure. We are for sure. You know, a bunch of guys out there on the golf course, guys and ladies out there on the golf course, we like to know where we stand, even if it's the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. Um uh so that that's that's awesome. Now, uh, you know, it is uh, as I said, you know, a cornerstone uh event. Um what kinds of conversations have you had with people north and south of the border, uh, you know, to to uh kind of set things up for because it's always it's really turned into a North American event, right?

SPEAKER_02 3:59

It really has. And that's the one thing that you know we are the most proud of is when we do have people come from other countries, you know, uh either the US or or further, which which does happen, um, they're always shocked at to as to the camaraderie. The, you know, we really do love touting that we do put the gloves down for the day. It doesn't matter if there's no competitors, we are all there for the same cause, which is to raise money as a as an industry and celebrate each other uh and all the hard work that we put into raising money for this wonderful charity and well-deserving charity. And that's what I'm the most proud of is seeing, you know, folks from out of town come in and say, wait a minute, that's your competitor and you're in the same cart, or you know, you guys are sharing a beer together. That's this is amazing. And that's Shad has be Chad's has become North American recognized for sure uh because of that.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Yeah, it it is it is kind of the sort of the showcase for the the best of uh Canada's aftermarket, right? It really is. Again, but all of this stuff, which is as amazing as it is, really uh is uh secondary to uh to the fundraising. And and uh you know, the fundraising, um it's pretty specific, right? I mean, it's been the the same charity the whole way along and and uh uh you know uh for folks out there who might not be familiar with what you know MD Canada uh is and does and and what's the contribution has meant over the years, uh maybe uh get people a little bit up to date on on that.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

Certainly, yeah. Muscular District Canada is a wonderful organization, um, comprised of you know several volunteers and uh they you know they have a board uh heavily weighted uh solely on donations. That's how they get the majority of their funding, obviously. Um they are researching to try to find a cure. And uh, you know, as every year goes by and the dollars go in, they feel that they are getting closer and closer. It was actually pretty inspiring. And uh I won't um spoil it, but we we have a wonderful guest speaker. It's one of the doctors uh that I met at that event. She's really leading the way with some new technology in in developing a cure. And really, this is our ultimate goal is to just one day, and we and we said this during our acceptance speech, and I'll quite quote uh Brad Shattuck on this is you know, we we're hoping that one day we have to find a new charity because we're getting close. So, and they're getting close, they feel very confident. Now, close could be five, 10 years down the road, but they do see a light at the end of the tunnel. They do feel like um they are progressing the right way.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

Right. And and and uh just in full transparency, uh, chat media, uh, this organization's uh participation in Chad's R and R is kind of one of our founding principles. So uh, you know, uh and I just say that, which means that like I've been to almost all of them, at least for the last uh more more than not all 50. I'll just say not all 50, but more than half. Uh um but yes, and and just to to uh kind of drive that point home, there's a number of therapies uh that have been developed since I started going uh that are maybe not cures so much, but have really allowed uh young young people or with muscular dystrophy to live very long and fulfilling lives, which in some of the cases, because it's not just one, it doesn't express as just one kind of uh disease in there there's lots of different uh number of different forms, facets to it and and in kind of different ways. Um uh and and uh you know what used to be viewed, I believe it was mentioned in the from the the speaker last year, you viewed as essentially a death sentence in one of these varieties of it. And uh it is no longer viewed that way. Correct. There's an early therapy, there's testing, there's therapies they can uh you know, gene therapies and whatnot. Um I can allow these people who have uh uh been you know unfortunate enough to to have this uh uh again live you know long and fulfilling lives from it sounds like and and so you know the the fundraising has had an impact.

SPEAKER_02 8:07

A massive, yes. You know, yeah, I would say a massive impact for sure.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

And and uh, you know, I guess I guess for here I am, I suppose you know, I'm supposed to be interviewing you. Uh but um but I I guess the the you know for me the most important thing uh you know in participating, continuing to encourage people to participate is that there has been progress. It's not just that it's gone from 50 years for some uh a cure to you know 20 years from now for there are partway cures that are being developed all the time.

SPEAKER_02 8:41

Absolutely. Yeah, they're very well said and and couldn't agree with you more. And just even, you know, changing the perspective for the newly diagnosed that uh, you know, it to that death sentence uh comment. You know, now it's okay, well, you're diagnosed. Here's the steps that we can now take. We're gonna start you here, then we're gonna move you to here. So it gives also that that patient, if you will, hope that, you know, this can be a prolonged and hopefully uh pain-free or manageable uh experience as they work towards a cure. So yeah, very well said.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Yeah, yeah. It's kind of it's kind of amazing. And and uh uh, you know, it and I I I I don't again don't want to put words in the mouth of the Muscular Dystrophy Canada, but I do know MD Canada has been very uh upfront about uh their appreciation for the contributions over the years uh from Shad's R and R and the aftermarket at large, right?

SPEAKER_02 9:40

Certainly, they absolutely have. Yeah. And again, just being recognized, uh one of their cornerstone awards is the French Frenchadic Award. So every year someone is nominated for that award and it's community spirit and given back. And uh we just so happened to win it last year, our second time uh the Shad's board winning that award, which was uh truly special.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Yeah, it's kind of it's kind of amazing. So for folks who are listening to this and are wondering how to get involved, um how do they get involved? How do they connect?

SPEAKER_02 10:13

So the Shad's website is uh is an absolutely great resource. Uh on there you'll find all sorts of information on uh both the the cause, the you know, the the therapies and and such that we have um, you know, related with MD Canada, but also too, there is a sign-up sheet there, which will take them to a link to that golf genius where they can pick their uh levels that they would like to be a sponsor, general admission, minor sponsor, major sponsor, and uh anything helps. And uh and we're grateful for anybody to attend. There's also some over and above contributions. If you can't make it for the day and you just like to click a link and uh donate a couple of bucks just to uh to participate, we would greatly appreciate it. So yeah, Shad's uh Shad's website, Shad's R and R uh website would be the the place to go.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Yeah, we'll certainly put that uh put that in the show notes so people can have a link to click on and see what that is. Wonderful. Yeah. Now for you, Charlie. You've been in Chads involved with Shads for a while, obviously. But now you're in the big chair, as it were. Um what does it mean to you to have this?

SPEAKER_02 11:19

You know, I I'm I remember way back when, as a, as a really, really young man, uh seeing this bag tag on my father's golf bag that said Shad's R R. And I'll never forget one year he was going to the tournament, and my brothers and I decided to use his driver as a baseball bat in in the driveway and uh snapped it in half. And uh he sat us down and he said, Well, guys, you know, let me explain to you what this is. This isn't just a golf tournament. This is a charity. This is where you give back, and this is really the first time as a young man. I truly was explained what a charity was. So this has been a part of my life for a long, long time. And getting to know Brad, getting to know uh the board members was such an honor. And knowing how important this is to the automotive aftermarket, I'm just I I really can't even express the feeling. I'm I'm so honored, uh, but uh I'm so motivated. I'm so motivated to continue to uh make this tournament thrive, uh implement some new changes. Uh I've been listening to the people. I've called several uh attendees, major general sponsors. It doesn't matter at what level I want to hear from everybody. How was your experience? What could we do better? And we're digesting that all. And we're gonna try to make this experience um uh uh fantastic for everybody who attends. So uh truly, truly honored to be in this seat uh for as long as I've known about Shad's RR. I just I can't believe I'm here, but I'm absolutely really, really relishing in it. I'm enjoying it.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

We'll see if you still feel exactly the same way when we get down to 30 days before the tournament and you're like I I will be not available for comments. Well, yeah, that's all I mean, all you know, all joking aside, though, it's usually a it's a very active board and very active uh perennial uh volunteers who who help out and and uh so kudos to them too for helping make it all possible, right?

SPEAKER_02 13:19

U Absolutely could not do this without uh their help and and also their leadership, you know, stepping into this role. There's a lot of intricacies that I was not aware of, and uh the guidance and support um has just been truly a blessing. It's been wonderful. The board is just uh is is a top-notch group of people and and certainly you know that's it's not going to be the same board. There we're certainly looking for new people down the road to potentially get on the board. So if if somebody's listening to this and they're thinking that they'd like to get involved, certainly shoot me an email or inquire throughout the website. Uh happy to have that uh conversation.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Good stuff. Well, there's a there's an open invitation for conversations. There's certainly lots of ways to get involved. Uh I said everything from you know just wanting to you know show the faith and and uh drop a couple of bucks, uh Shads are in our way to uh full-on uh participation in uh the organizing of the event and everything in between, right? So uh for sure. Looking forward to it again as we stare out as as we're talking, stare out on the icy, snowy roads and fields. And uh it doesn't hurt too much to think about the the sunny greens of uh of of June to come. It's uh can't wait. There is hope, right?

SPEAKER_02 14:37

So no doubt.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

Awesome. Charlie, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast. We'll put show notes in here for anybody who wants to uh check in with uh shadsr and shadsrr.ca uh to uh find out what's going on and look at the different ways you can contribute and help uh for uh for the cause, uh pause for the cause, as it were. Uh and uh thanks everyone for listening. Uh you know, it's uh always a proud moment to start talking about Shads R. It's it really is a celebration for the aftermarket and shows what it can do, and it is the best of the aftermarket, in my view, anyway.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

Agreed.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

All right, all right, take care everyone. Thanks for listening.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

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