Fred MacGillivray may be leaving his job, but the 63-year-old definitely isn’t retiring.
The high-profile head of Trade Centre Limited says when his job winds up at the end of March, he’ll head to his Florida vacation home and consider several offers he’s had.
“I’ve had a couple of offers to do things nationally. But Halifax is my home, and I’m not leaving,” MacGillivray said yesterday.
Asked if he’d consider running for office, MacGillivray was equally coy.
“At this stage of my life, I would not close the door on anything.”
MacGillivray has been an unabashed promoter of Halifax events since he took the job in 1994. People grumbled about his ego – and his sizeable pension – but he got the credit for many of the larger events the city has hosted, such as the 2008 World Junior Hockey Championships, which put Halifax on a national stage.
MacGillivray said one of the bigger disappointments of his career was the province and the city’s decision to cancel Halifax’s bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, because it would have brought badly-needed infrastructure – and international attention.
“A city this size doesn’t get a chance very often in its life. I felt that was ours,” MacGillivray said.
