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, during Canadian Music Week.
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 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.
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.
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.
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."