Inspiring Creativity

In 2008, Bernadette McDonald produced a marvellous book that celebrated 75 years of Inspiring Creativity at The Banff Centre.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this unique institution, it is probably best known as The Banff School of Fine Arts (created in 1933). Later, as the Government of Alberta created The Banff Centre Act and provided more stable, annual financial support, an international conference centre and The Banff Centre School of Management were added into the mix on Tunnel Mountain.

I spent the 1980’s as part of the School of Management. Our mission was to offer short (2 days to 3 weeks), residential seminars, workshops and conferences to the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. When we began the decade, there were about 30 of us working with faculty from all around the world to produce approximately 3 dozen of these events for fewer than 1,000 paying participants mostly from Canada and we were costing The Banff Centre about a half-million dollars a year for that privilege. By the end of the 80’s, there were 17 of us producing 60+ such events for over 2,000 participants from many parts of the world and we were actually making money. We had huge pride in that accomplishment.

I left The Banff Centre to join PCL Construction in 1989 and was approached by Bernadette some years later to write up a short tribute for the publication she was leading. The following is what I wrote for Inspiring Creativity.

“During the 1980’s, I had the honour of being part of a team of dedicated professionals who took the School of Management out of the red and into the black. I believe our accomplishment had a lot to do with the empowering faith The Banff Centre had in us. We were inspired by the vision we shared, and its achievement was constrained only by our creativity. As the years have gone by, I have come to realize that working in that environment with those colleague was a rare gift.”

I still feel that way today, in 2020. I am very proud to have my words appear in the same space as tributes to the work of David and Peggy Leighton, Les Manning, Tom and Isobel Rolston and so many more incredible talents.