Orillia broker/owner Bill Kindou honours former employee with donation | REM

Broker/owner Bill Kindou, his wife Michelle and the team at Sutton Group – Incentive Realty in Orillia, Ont. have raised thousands of dollars for local charities with a focus on health care. Through their popular golf tournaments and barbecues prior to the pandemic, they raised more than $50,000.

Bill and Michelle sold their Orillia office building in 2021 and once the sale was completed this winter, they promptly donated $25,000 to Soldiers’ Foundation. Their donation supports Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital Foundation’s We Are All Soldiers’ Campaign.

Around the same time, Linda Douglas, a now-retired receptionist from Sutton Group – Incentive Realty, was undergoing treatment for lung cancer. She worked for Michelle and Bill for nearly 13 years in the Orillia office.

“Linda is fun loving and always has a fantastic laugh; all of our agents love her,” says Michelle. “Linda was diagnosed with cancer just over a year ago. She has finished her chemo and is now receiving immune therapy. So far, her CAT scans are looking good.”

When the foundation informed Bill and Michelle that their $25,000 donation would be commemorated with a plaque, they wanted to immortalize Linda’s special contributions and requested that “In Honour of Linda Douglas” be added next to their brokerage name.

“They sent cards of encouragement, phone calls, flowers… you name it, they did it,” says Douglas. “Then they top it off with a gift I have no words to describe: a treatment room in Oncology in Soldiers’ Hospital in my honour. I am so lucky to have worked for such a thoughtful, generous company.”

Michelle says, “My mother was 59 when she passed away from stomach cancer, I’m a 10-year breast cancer survivor and Linda developed lung cancer. People never know what will happen but having quality care available is always important. It was wonderful that Linda was able to see her name on the plaque. It meant a lot to her.”