With 47 stores across Canada, Golf Town has a wide range of expert staff from different walks of life. Regardless of their background, beliefs or heritage everyone has one common link that unites them all together, their love for the game of golf.

In this week’s Associate Spotlight, we feature Ian Stroet from our Calgary South store. Ian’s story is one of perseverance and hope and serves as a reminder of what’s truly important in life.

December 23, 2019 is a day that Ian Stroet will never forget.
It was on that day doctors informed him the softball-size mass they’d discovered in the right side of his chest a couple of months earlier was non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

What began as some minor chest pain while on vacation in Mexico had turned into Ian’s worst nightmare. As if that wasn’t enough to deal with two days before Christmas, there was more bad
news on the way …

“That night, my wife actually had a stroke as well. So, it was a rough ending to 2019 to say the least.”

And so began months of treatment. Stroke rehab for Andrea and an aggressive regimen of chemo for Ian.

While Ian was spending his days battling cancer and helping Andrea with her recovery, his extended family at Calgary South was missing him dearly.

“He’s one of the best guys I know here,” said Teigan Piatt, South Calgary Shipper/Receiver. “Super personable, people person. He thinks about you first. You’re not just a worker to him, you’re his friend.”

It wasn’t just the staff that felt empty without Ian. A lot of the customers were lost without
him too.

“I’m so happy he’s back,” said long time customer Jim Jiwani. I did miss him big time. I come in to visit him, just to say hello
to him for what he was going through and it’s nice to see him bouncing back.”

Finally, after five months of grueling chemo, it was time for Ian to ring the bell and announce to the world he was a cancer survivor.

And there’s more good news. Andrea is almost fully recovered from the stroke.

Ian’s ordeal over the past couple of years has given him a new perspective on things. A life-long avid golfer, he says he no longer gets upset when he hits a bad shot. But that perspective extends far beyond the golf course.

“Every day I wake up, I’m like, beautiful. I’m here. I’m still breathing. “My wife’s getting better every day. It’s always a good day.”

Something to think about the next time we hit one into the rough.