Wes Gee sets the bar high in everything he does.

The 62-year-old Hamilton native recently purchased the Pelham Panthers from long time owner Tim Toffolo and has lofty aspirations for the organization.

“I’m not here to be average and do things the way everyone else does them, because that makes me average,” said Gee, who works as a portfolio manager in Waterloo. “I’ve never got involved in anything I do with the expectation of being average. When I manage money, I don’t manage the way everyone else does because that would put me where everyone else is. If you dare be in the top two per cent, do something different.

“We are daring to be something beyond where we are.”

Gee believes in order to do that, it is essential to put the proper staff in place.

“The secret to running any successful organization is the people you surround yourself with,” he said. “This would be too daunting for any one person to grab the bull by the horns and think they’re going to be smart enough or good enough to think they are going to run this as a one-man show. 

“This is a team. In all my other enterprises, it’s always a team. I might be fortunate enough to have my face first on most websites, but I would never be there without the five or 10 faces that follow me. They are the magic. This is not about Wes Gee. It’s about Pelham and the people.”

Gee, whose son Jason Gee is a former Panther, has hired his stepdaughter, Emelie Ficht, as general manager.

“Emily is really passionate because she saw the experience Jason had throughout minor hockey. We think there’s a better way to present the organization. That’s why we’re here.”

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