Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games

The Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games had originally been scheduled for 2021. When I arrived in Niagara to oversee the integration of the recently acquired inventory and staff of another company to PSI’s business, one of my priorities was securing the contract to provide AV support and planning services for the Games. This evolved into a sponsorship, which raised the company’s profile nationally, helped establish PSI’s presence in the Niagara Region. Planning was well underway when the pandemic forced a pause, and eventually a postponement until 2022. In the production world, more time is often a blessing, but in this case, continued restrictions and general uncertainty about the progress of the virus meant that planning did not begin in earnest until late winter, 2022. As we emerged from the pandemic, we were faced with several challenges: supply chain disruptions made equipment expensive and/or hard to obtain, talented and experienced technicians and project managers had left the industry which made staffing difficult, much of the original team at the Games had left when their original contracts expired, different municipalities were all coming back online with different expectations and requirements, and we had a compressed planning schedule. Ultimately, the team I managed at PSI rose to the occasion, and the Games were a complete success, generating a $3 million surplus that funded the 2022 Canada Games Legacy Fund to support Sport Niagara.

I am proud of the work we did, given the challenges we faced, and even more proud that we delivered on time, and on budget, and were a key part of contributing to the economic success of Niagara Region.