TORONTO – Broadcast veteran and Canadian music advocate Gary Slaight has been named as the recipient of the 2012 Walt Grealis special achievement award.
The award, which recognizes individuals who have made an impact in the Canadian music industry, will be handed out at the 2012 Juno gala dinner and awards on March 31 in Ottawa.
“Gary Slaight’s remarkable intuition in business as well as the Canadian music industry is rare. He’s not only distinguished himself as a music innovator, he has made it his mandate to proactively support our nation’s talented artists through the Slaight Family Foundation and Slaight Music,” said Melanie Berry, president and CEO of Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences /The Juno Awards, in the announcement. “We are very pleased to recognize Gary Slaight with the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award for his exceptional contributions.”
Slaight is the president and CEO of Slaight Communications, and founder of Slaight Music, a company he started to develop and support Canadian talent. He began his broadcast career at Quality Records and WEA Records, before joining Toronto rock station Q107. In 2000, Slaight took over the helm of his father Allan Slaight’s (recipient of the 2005 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award) radio empire, Standard Broadcasting Corporation, which he eventually sold to Astral Media for more than $1 billion.
