GARY SLAIGHT TO BE HONOURED FOR HUMANITARIANISM AT THE 2010 CANADIAN MUSIC AND BROADCAST INDUSTRY AWARDS

Induction to take place Thursday, March 11, 2010 at the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards

11/24/2009

Canadian Music Week is pleased to announce that Gary Slaight, President & CEO of Slaight Communications, will be lauded for his longstanding commitment to charitable initiatives as the recipient of the Humanitarian Spirit Award.

He will be recognized for his achievement at the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards on Thursday, March 11, 2010, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, during Canadian Music Week, March 10-14, 2010, in Toronto.

Community service has always been paramount to Gary Slaight and his family. The current President and Chief Executive Officer of Slaight Communications and four-time Canadian Music Industry Awards (CMIA) Broadcast Executive of the Year sits on a variety of charitable boards and oversees the Slaight Family Foundation, which has recently donated over $30 million to hospitals, the arts and youth-driven initiatives and overseas aid.

Recent Slaight Family gifts include: a $12 million gift from Allan Slaight and his wife Emmanuelle Gattuso to Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital; a $5 million gift from the Slaight Family to Niagara-On-The-Lake’s Shaw Festival Theatre for the establishment of The Slaight Family Academy, which mentors and trains young actors; a $5 million endowment to the United Way’s Youth Challenge Fund — the United Way’s single biggest donation in its 60-year history; recent gifts from Ada Slaight and the Slaight Family Foundation to St. Michael’s, Sunnybrook and Mt. Sinai Hospitals; and a $1 million gift from Gary and his wife, Donna, to The Young Centre —  home to Soulpepper and the George Brown Theatre School — to fund their resident artist program through 2012. The couple has also awarded a collective $600,000 to Lorraine Kimsa’s Theatre For Young People also through 2012, and Gary recently helped implement the Allan Slaight Writers’ Fund at The Walrus Magazine – a three-year donation of  $75,000 annually.

As a Director Emeritus of The Sick Kids Foundation, one of Slaight’s more remarkable accomplishments is the annual radiothon conducted on behalf of Toronto’s Sick Children’s Hospital. Originally launched by Standard Radio – a division of the Slaight family’s Standard Broadcasting Corporation Limited, the largest privately owned multimedia company in Canada until its 2007 purchase by Astral Media -- the national event has raised more than $25 million for the charity. In recognition of this 22-year contribution, which continues under the Astral Media banner, the Hospital rechristened its foyer in 2008 as The Slaight Family Atrium.

Currently, Slaight is sponsoring the rebuilding of four schools in the Congo Republic in conjunction with War Child Canada, as well as purchasing a vehicle to help ensure the safety of War Child staff. He plays very active roles in fundraising planning and execution and believes in funding projects and opportunities that are based on vision fostering sustainable change in people’s lives.

“Gary Slaight is a remarkably generous and committed humanitarian,” says Dr. Samantha Nutt, Founder and Executive Director, War Child Canada. “With his support, thousands of children are now able to attend school in the Democratic Republic of Congo – one of the most war ravaged countries in the world – and girls in northern Uganda are being protected from ongoing sexual violence and abuse.

“I am delighted to learn that he is this year’s recipient of the Humanitarian Spirit Award. Congratulations, Gary, on behalf of all of us at War Child Canada.”

Frances Lankin, PC, president and CEO United Way Toronto, also welcomed the acknowledgement of Gary Slaight’s charity work.

“It’s fabulous news to hear that Gary is going to be recognized with this really deserving award,” said The United Way’s Lankin. “Gary is a long time and generous supporter of community, with a particular focus on young people and on the arts.  And we have been very fortunate at United Way Toronto to work closely with him and to see how his philanthropy is making a difference in our city.”

Embodying a new generation of Canadian business leaders, Slaight sits on a variety of charitable boards. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Astral Media, Luminato, Sirius Satellite Radio, Toronto International Film Festival and Maplemusic.

An energetic and tireless supporter of Canadian music talent, Slaight created the National Songwriting Contest and the Canadian Radio Music Awards. He also established the Slaight Family Scholarship for study at Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music, where his daughter Ali is studying.  Locally, the Slaight Family has been longtime supporter of the Dixon Hall Music School.

Gary Slaight has received numerous broadcasting accolades including: CMIA Broadcast Executive of the Year; Award for Outstanding Community Service by an Individual Broadcaster from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ 2007 Gold Ribbon Award for Broadcasting Excellence. In March 2005, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame.

In accepting the Humanitarian Spirit Award, Gary Slaight stated, “I am honoured and humbled to receive the Humanitarian Spirit Award on behalf of my entire family: Allan Slaight and Emmanuelle Gattuso; my mom Ada; my wife Donna and our two daughters Ali and Chrissy.” 

“We are privileged to be in the position where we can use our good fortune to help others and try to make the world a better place for those less fortunate. We encourage everyone to try to do their part: There is plenty of work to be done.”

Previous Humanitarian Spirit Award recipients include Tom Cochrane and Denise Donlon.

Tickets for the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards gala dinner are available for purchase through the Canadian Music Week website at www.cmw.net.

Canadian Music Week is Canada’s leading annual entertainment event dedicated to the expression and growth of the country’s music, media and entertainment industries. Combining four information-intensive conferences; a trade exposition; a film festival; four awards shows and the nation's largest New Music Festival – Canadian Music Fest - CMW spans a five-day period from March 10 to March 14, 2010 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel and various downtown Toronto venues, attracting participants from across the globe. For more information, visit www.cmw.net

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For Canadian Music Week information, please contact:
Bessie Bullard - Communications Director
T: 905.858.4747 E: bessie@cmw.net