Community News - Blachford Tax Law Charity Game 5-Year Anniversary

Nothing embodies summer more than a trip to the ball diamond. So, block-off the afternoon of August 16th, 2023, for you and a few of your colleagues to head to the RA Center to watch the five-year anniversary of the Blachford Tax Law Charity Game.

Two teams of accounting professionals from Ottawa’s top firms will compete for their selected charities. Last year, the game came down to the wire and raised $11,000 for charity, before we all retired to Hometown Sports Grill for drinks and pizza.

But the Blachford Tax Law Charity Game comes from humble beginnings. The first year, my plan was to enter a team of accountants into a local tournament, but recruiting players was difficult. I remember, after many unsuccessful recruiting calls, hearing about a golden glover at Hendry Warren LLP named Jaime Wendland. As my call was ringing, I thought to myself, “if this woman says ‘no’, I’m going to drop this silly idea.” Thankfully, she said ‘yes’, and the ball was rolling.

Unfortunately, the other teams in the tournament were very serious and experienced. They arrived with full matching jerseys and most players had their own bat bags. We had a great time, but lost all four of our games.

The next year, we decided to create our own event, with two teams playing each other. The relationships I had made the previous year made recruiting much easier. We appointed a captain of each team and they each chose a charity to play for. Hugues Boisvert and I ponied up $1,000 for the winning team’s charity and $500 for the charity of the second-place team. Playing for charity gave the event a sense of purpose and excitement.

Caroline Phillips of the Ottawa Business Journal attended the game and wrote a wonderful article about the event. This caught the eye of Ted Carty, of Grade A / Convergence Networks, who asked if they could sponsor the event the following year. TAG HR, Video Tax News, and Xero also sponsored the game.

Last year, Audit Shield joined as a sponsor, sending two representatives from Toronto to participate, and David Walter, of DC Foresight Financial, became the first sponsor to hit a home run. We also added a DJ and an announcer to make the game more fan friendly.

The charities that we have donated to over the years include: Girls on the Run Ottawa, The Dementia Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County, Open Doors for Lanark County Children and Youth, Ottawa Humane Society, CHEO, and Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.

Which brings us to year-five, where we hope to build on the success of previous years and have a few surprises in store. Firms are encouraged to send fans to the game. If you are a CPA, we want to see you at the diamond, and the afterparty.