Photo (L-R) Past London Ontario Golf Heart Award winners Mike Silver (2017), Patty Howard (2013), Lindsey Edmunds (2018), Bob Martin (2016) with the Heart Award in 2019 at Highland Country Club.
July 31, 2023 (London, ONT) – LondonOntarioSports.com, London’s Trusted Source for Sports News & Information, announces that its annual awards banquet will return on Friday, June 27, 2024 at London’s RiverBend Golf Community.
A staple of the local sports calendar, the LondonOntarioSports.com awards banquet was last held in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event brings together local athletes, coaches, support staff, administrators, volunteers, sponsors and members of the media who celebrate the very best local sports has to offer with two major awards, plus readers’ choice awards, including:
• The London Ontario Golf Heart Award (est. 2011), presented by partner publication LondonOntarioGolf.com (est. 2004), the Voice of Golf in Southwestern Ontario, now published in its entirety at LondonOntarioSports.com. The Heart Award is presented annually to a member of the London and area golf community who unselfishly gives back to golf while growing the game. Mike Weir was the most notable winner, in 2014. Long-time Sunningdale Golf & Country Club golf superintendent Tim Webb is the 13th annual winner in 2023.
• The Jeffrey Reed Courage Award (est. 2016), presented annually – along with $1,000 – to a Southern Ontario athlete who inspires others with their courage on and off the playing field. LondonOntarioSports.com publisher and editor Jeffrey Reed is a disabled athlete who, despite his physical challenges, pitched and coached with the London Majors Baseball Club of the semi-professional Intercounty Baseball League and later was a long-time Staff Advisory member with Wilson Golf. Oakville, Ont. golfer Natasha Stasiuk is the 8th annual Courage Award winner in 2023.
• The Best of London Golf Awards (est. 2013), an annual readers’ survey with winners in 18 local golf categories. The survey draws about 5,000 votes each year from readers of LondonOntarioGolf.com & LondonOntarioSports.com. In 2022 and ’23, Pine Knot Golf & Country Club in Dorchester was the top overall vote getter.
Jeffrey Reed with Courage Award winner Ali Vlasman of the Fanshawe Falcons.
LondonOntarioGolf.com (est. 2004) celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2024. Now published in its entirety at LondonOntarioSports.com, the golf publication acts as the Voice of Golf in Southwestern Ontario, and includes local, national and international golf news and information, updated numerous times daily. Reed and LondonOntarioGolf.com are three-time award winners for excellence in Canadian golf writing, presented by the Golf Journalists Association of Canada.
One of Southwestern Ontario’s most prestigious golf properties, the private, gated RiverBend Golf Community was designed and built by Sifton Properties Limited. Renown golf course architect Doug Carrick designed the course which rests on a gorgeous 160-acre parcel of land carved within the Kain Woods and bordering the winding Thames River.
“The entire team at LondonOntarioSports.com is thrilled to be staging the return of our popular awards banquet at RiverBend Golf Community,” said LondonOntarioSports.com publisher and editor Jeffrey Reed. “There’s already a buzz within the local sports community about the return of our luncheon, and we’re already planning for what promises to be the best banquet yet. While our awards programs have continued throughout the trying times of the pandemic, it’s time to bring it back and formally recognize – in a social setting – all of our past and present winners. We can’t wait to welcome back the Southern Ontario sports community next year.”
The 2024 luncheon on Friday, June 7 will include a reunion of all past Heart Award and Courage Award winners. In addition, winners in all categories of the Best of London Golf Awards will be invited to celebrate local sports.
Watch LondonOntarioSports.com and its social media platforms for updates on ticket sales, to open in early January. The luncheon will also include special guest speakers, as well as prize giveaways from our golf industry sponsors.
Added Reed, “Our previous awards banquets have already proven to function as annual reunions which have brought together members of the local golf industry – it has been something they have all eagerly anticipated each year. Members of our top sports clubs, including the London Majors, FC London Soccer Club, Fanshawe Falcons and Western Mustangs have all attended. And I am sure our 2024 gathering will be our best yet.”
For a complete list of London Ontario Golf Heart Award winners, visit: https://londonontariosports.com/the-heart-award/
For a complete list of Jeffrey Reed Courage Award winners, visit: https://londonontariosports.com/jeffrey-reed-courage-award-bios/
For information on the 2023 Best of London Golf Awards, visit:
https://londonontariosports.com/golf/best-of-london-golf-awards-golf/announcing-2023-best-of-london-golf-awards-winners/
Follow LondonOntarioSports.com
Twitter @jeffreykreed
Facebook @londonontariosports
Instagram @golferpitcher
LinkedIn @jeffreyreedreporting
For more information and high-res images, please contact:
Jeffrey Reed, Publisher & Editor, LondonOntarioSports.com 519/643-6334 jeff@londonontariosports.com
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About LondonOntarioSports.com
LondonOntarioSports.com, London’s Trusted Source for Sports News & Information (est. 2015), is a project from publisher and editor Jeffrey Reed, a member of the London sports media since 1980. A seven-time award winner for excellence in sportswriting in Canada and the U.S., Reed is a three-time author who works in print, broadcast and new media. LondonOntarioSports.com now includes partner publication LondonOntarioGolf.com, the Voice of Golf in Southwestern Ontario (est. 2004), and combined draw hundreds of thousands of readers each month. The two websites have supported the London and area community with more than $100,000 in charitable giving – read more here.
