Al's Farewell Tour 2024

Al’s Farewell Tour 2024

In 1982, after graduating from Algonquin College’s Radio & Television Arts program, Al began his career with a government agency, Canadian Unity Information Office. He was hired to animate and promote mobile and institutional exhibits about federal government programs and services. For two years, he crisscrossed Canada from Vancouver Island to Prince Edward Island visiting both large and small communities and participating in events including the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE), the Calgary Stampede, Red River Days, the Central National Exhibition (CNE) and the Charlottetown Festival.

“It was an amazing way to get to know our beautiful country,” he says. In 1983, while working at the Freedom Festival in Windsor Al met Janine. As he tells the story, he lost all his freedom…

Pope John II visited Canada in 1984 and Al was fortunate to be hired as a Jr Media Relations Officer. Following that, he began working for several different organizations doing a variety of projects including public and media relations, special event and conference coordination and marketing. As part of this, he spent 10 years working with a national association, Canadian Parents for French, and was heavily involved in public relations and youth programming for French Immersion students from across Canada. At the same time, Al also worked as a part-time and sessional teacher in the Public Relations Program at Algonquin College for five years.

His big career break came in 1991 when two friends and fundraising colleagues (Kim Curran and Brenda Rothwell) referred him for a position as Director of Communication for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Foundation. Although the term was a maternity leave, the incumbent resigned several months after returning to the position, because her husband was transferred out of Ottawa, and Al was offered the fulltime position with the Foundation. 

“To say I learned a lot in the next nine years at CHEO would be a huge understatement,” says Roberts. “I was involved in all major activities including the CJOH Telethon, Le Tour Nortel, the Duck Race and the Teddy Bears’ Picnic.” One of his major achievements was the development and introduction of the CHEO Foundation’s first web site. The headline he developed was “CHEO Bear learns to surf!”

The City of Ottawa recruited him in 2001 to become Manager of Communications for their largest department, People Services. He stayed for two years but then moved to the Ottawa Public Library’s (OPL) to become Manager of Community Partnerships and Programs. Promoting library programs and services including literacy was a better fit than handling media relations for the Smoking By-Law and the Needle Exchange program. As part of his work with the library, he was also called upon to manage their fledgling foundation for a year.

This re-introduction to foundation work reignited his interest in fundraising. In 2009 the sports’ pages didn’t cover the fact that Al had signed a one-way contract to become Director of Fundraising for the Ottawa Senators. One of his biggest career wins was helping to raise enough funds to finish the basement at Roger Neilson House.

Although working for the Sens was fun, the special event nature of the foundation was no longer where his interest lay. In 2012 Al join the Queensway Carleton Hospital Foundation as Director of Philanthropy where he learned a great deal about major gift and campaign fundraising. Another personal milestone was achieved when he worked with the Myers Group (Mews Family) to secure a $1 million gift and name the Acute Care for the Elderly Unit.

Janine was working in the Obstetrics Unit at the Almonte General Hospital in 2015 when she told Al the Foundation was looking for a Managing Director. The more they looked into it, the more interesting it seemed, especially heading up a small but high performing shop and developing a campaign to raise enough funds to replace all the diagnostic imaging equipment plus adding a CT scanner. As the saying goes, the rest is history. 

After nine fabulous years, the Hospital and Manor have benefited immensely from the generosity of the community. Al says, “Representing the Foundation and working with Foundation staff and volunteers have been the most rewarding time of my entire career.”

Please join in celebrating Al’s Farewell Tour 2024 and supporting AGH!!