PGSO In The Black

PRINCE GEORGE – The Prince George Symphony Orchestra is back in the black. It was with great pride the symphony went before Council this week and put a cheque for $17,733.33 into the hands of the Director of Finance, the final payment on a $50,000 loan from the city. 

“2005, actually, was when we asked the City for this $50,000 loan,” explains Teresa Saunders, General Manager for the PGSO. “The PGSO was in quite desperate straits. That [loan] helped us. On the other hand, it got to 2009 and we found ourselves also in desperate straits. We got to the point where we very nearly had to close the doors.”

But, the organization went into austerity mode and have managed to pull away from a $131,000 debt to become debt-free. But Saunders says, despite being out of debt, the push is to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself and will be actively marketing.

“The Board is hiring a fund development person to go out and find us those dollars,” says Saunders. “A marketing person, a salesman who really does know the business and knows the people in town. And we’ll be knocking on doors.”