By Gary Slaight
Dear Dad:
You have been such a large presence in my life that I wanted to express just how much you have meant to me.
I want to thank you for instilling in me my love of music. It probably wouldn’t be acceptable today—dropping Greg and me off in the CHUM music library on weekends as a form of childcare while you did your work around the station—but it certainly allowed me to listen to and absorb the greatest music in the world at an impressionable age.
I want to thank you for insisting that I work for someone else before even entertaining the idea of working for you. I realized much later how invaluable that was, making me responsible not just to others, but to myself. It also made me appreciate, when I did start working for you at Q-107, the high expectations you set, particularly for yourself. It inspired me to go above and beyond, just as you did throughout your life.
And then, our many years together, building a broadcasting business that spanned right across the country. I thank you for your trust. You demonstrated time and time again that we achieve so much more by working together than by ourselves, and not just financially. That the friendships formed can be even more rewarding.
And the list goes on.
Finally, thank you for demonstrating the power of passion. For me, that passion is philanthropy, for which I had you as an early role model. And with the Slaight Family Foundation established under your watchful eye, I can pursue that passion for years to come. For all that, and much more, I am eternally grateful.
Love,
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