The board wishes to thank Sandy Mackay-Smith for his extraordinary tenure on the board. Sandy has decided to step down after seven years of deep commitment to the PAL Ottawa cause.
When Sandy joined the board, suddenly things started to happen. From a point of stasis, we were launched into activity. You know how the story ended, but Sandy’s energy was crucial in creating the financial scenarios for the Rochester project, working with the team to begin the applicants’ list, plotting out how the Endowment Fund would work, and dealing with lawyers, insurance people, and the like.
Sandy’s crowning achievement – like the applicants’ list, of enduring importance – was the creation of the Campaign Cabinet for fundraising. Sandy found the exact right people of prominence and devotion to the city’s arts workers, and they launched into the impressive campaign which after all the fallout from the Rochester project has given us a position of financial strength. Almost $1.8 million raised. And more waiting for the right agreement. And this legacy of Sandy and the Cabinet is such that we can now discuss with private developers real prospects of partnerships.
Our PAL Ottawa friends and colleagues have known few champions as great as Sandy. He is a great lover of the arts. His heart is on his sleeve. We are all lucky and honoured by his service.
Background
Sandy is a retired corporate entertainment lawyer and former President of Invicta Capital Canada, a film and TV financing company. Prior to that, he practised as an entertainment lawyer and served as a Vice President and General Counsel of Nelvana (purchased by Corus Entertainment). While living in Montreal, Sandy was a former Chairman of the Centaur Theatre Company. He is now actively involved as a family member of Juniper Farm in Wakefield, a certified organic vegetable farm with an online farm store with a large variety of organic products serving Gatineau and Ottawa food and restaurant outlets. Sandy has been a PAL Ottawa Board Member since 2018.
“I decided to join PAL Ottawa because of my own interest in the arts and my family’s involvement in the entertainment industry. I therefore have some first-hand knowledge of how difficult it can become financially for senior arts workers.”
