Brockville and District Chamber of Commerce 2024 Business Person of the Year Recipient

July 18, 2024

The Brockville and District Chamber of Commerce is proud to recognize the outstanding achievements of the businesses, organizations and individuals who make a positive difference in our community. We are delighted to announce that the recipient of the 2024 Award of Excellence for Businessperson of the Year is Ms. Samia O’Day.

Ms. O’Day believes deeply in the power of diversity and music in education. An award-winning singer-songwriter and classical pianist, McGill University graduate, winner of the McGill Concerto Competition and the Factor Independent Singer-Songwriter award, she has mentored young emerging talents throughout her career.

Ms. O’Day is the Founder and Director of the Canada Music Academy and the Montreal Academy of Music, which will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025. Under her leadership, a dedicated team of over 300 hand selected, certified music teachers have delivered over one million music lessons to over 25,000 students.

In addition to the lessons they offer at their Brockville headquarters, the Academy offers lessons in major cities including Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver, as well as throughout Canada and online. As a reflection of Ms. O’Day’s commitment to diversity, Academy teachers collectively speak over 40 languages and have won numerous awards, including Grammys and Junos.

Ms. O’Day developed the Academy’s proprietary software well ahead of its time, offering cloud based, online registration and management platforms. This offered students the ability to easily find and access high quality, affordable music lessons online.

She is co-founder of All You Need Music which is also headquartered in Brockville, creating local jobs, and supplying students, teachers, communities, places of worship and school boards with instruments, service and pro audio equipment, supported by a professional team that highly values education and community.

Ms. O’Day has generously volunteered much of her available time in various capacities to the Brockville area community. This included leading the Brockville Concert Association through a successful 75th milestone concert series, “A World of Music”, and recruiting and rallying additional volunteers to keep the organization alive and well.

She is the Director of Music at Wall Street United Church where she is credited with expanding its music program to include coaching and mentoring for youth in a welcoming, inclusive music environment.

Ms. O’Day has shown remarkable resilience on her journey to becoming a highly successful businessperson. In her personal time, she enjoys travel, spending time with family, and writing music that speaks to promoting peace, justice and human rights around the world.

We look forward to celebrating the 2024 Business Person of the Year with Samia O’Day’s family and friends at the Awards of Excellence Gala being held on Thursday, September 19, 2024, at the Brockville Country Club. We will also be announcing the recipients for: Business of The Year, Small Business of The Year, Community Excellence Award, the Tourism Award and the Ben TeKamp Award.

Seating is limited and tickets must be purchased in advance, online at www.brockvillechamber.com

The Brockville and District Chamber of Commerce represents more than 300 members and has been the community’s business advocate since 1906. Our mission is through proactive leadership in advocacy and networking; we support and grow business to build a strong economic community.