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Matthews House Hospice honours local residents with MC Legacy Award

October 29, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

As an organization that operates largely on donations, Matthews House Hospice in Alliston is appreciative of the efforts of local residents and businesses who help them deliver their services and programs.

The Marv Chantler (MC) Legacy Award is awarded each year by Matthews House Hospice to an individual, family, or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the ongoing development and sustainability of Matthews House Hospice. The Matthews House Hospice Foundation board of directors chooses the recipient.

The MC Legacy Award was first awarded in 2024.

This year the award was presented to Walter and Linda Davidson of WD Potato.

“We are proud to recognize WD Potato and the Davidson family for the meaningful difference they continue to make in our community,” said Sabina Morell, Matthews House Hospice Foundation president. “Their generosity reflects the spirit of the Legacy Award — honouring those whose contributions help ensure compassionate care remains available to individuals and families when they need it most.”

She continued, “The Davidson family represents the very best of our community. They have deep local roots and a generous spirit, and a longstanding commitment of giving back to the community. Their support of Matthews House Hospice and other philanthropic causes reflect a genuine dedication to making a difference in the lives of others. We are so proud to recognize their generosity and lasting contributions to our community.”

In keeping with a new tradition, the previous year’s recipient of the MC Legacy Award is asked to present it to the current winner.

Last year, the award went to Honda Canada. Gerald Bruch, representing Honda, presented the award to the Davidsons.

Walter Davidson represents a true Canadian business success story.

He arrived in Canada from England as a young man with only $15 in his pocket. After starting out farming potatoes, he was asked by one of the potato chip companies to start storage for the product.

He soon gave up farming and focused on storage facilities for potatoes.

“Frito Lay came along and asked us to build storage facilities in 1971, and we bought from local farmers,” Walter explained. “We soon expanded to Nova Scotia.  We deal with around 41 farmers who have a combined 26,000 acres.”

Many local potato farmers have contracts with potato chip companies that will buy up to 90 per cent of their product. This is a great two-way situation.

The potato chip company has a reliable supply of raw materials and the farmers have a guaranteed customer.

WD Potato also ships to a factory in New York. The tariffs imposed by the U.S. resulted in 10 loads of potatoes being charged extra. However, an apparent strong lobby in the U.S. food market made sure the tariffs were removed.

After achieving success in his chosen industry, Walter decided to give back to the community that supports him through donations to various good causes.

In addition to Mathews House Hospice, there are plenty of hockey teams that have benefited from WD Potato sponsorship and proudly wear the name on their jerseys. 

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