Organization
Since its inception, the festival has been managed by executive and artistic director Mark Monahan. Over the years a small group of full-time employees has been added, including director of sponsorship, Nathalie Laperrière (1999) and director of communications, AJ Sauve (2000). Current director of operations, Mike Rouleau, was added in 2004 and director of volunteer services Tammy Parent in 2006. Catherine Côté has served as the artist liaison in the programming department since 2007. In 2008 William Yap joined the team as accounting coordinator and current marketing director Allison Shalla was hired in 2009 as marketing coordinator. Janessa Doyle was hired as accounting assistant in 2010.
In 2002, the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest won the Best Event Award from the Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority and in 2003 the organization received the Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) award for arts education from the Memphis Blues Foundation. Mark Monahan is a past recipient of the Toronto Blues Society's Blues with a Feeling award. In December 2011 Bluesfest reached a five-year sponsorship deal with RBC Royal Bank that will ensure its financial stability. Henceforth, the event will be known as the RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest.
Read more about this topic: Ottawa Bluesfest
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