Graeme Ivory

Kick-Off of a Career

Graeme Ivory grew up as a sports-loving kid in Arnprior, but today you’ll find him as the town’s manager of recreation.

Before taking on his new role, Graeme acted as the Director of Communications and Content with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), overseeing communications strategies for the Ottawa REDBLACKS, Ottawa Fury FC and Ottawa 67s.

He also currently hosts Corner Kicks on TSN 1200 and broadcasts with the Ottawa Fury FC team.

There’s a lot of ground to cover between being a young sports fan and building a career in the field. Graeme shared the story of that journey with us.

As a teenager, Graeme had already locked on to his passions. He loved sports, especially soccer and hockey, and knew he wanted to go into broadcasting—so he did. At age 13, Graeme did colour commentary on Cogeco TV for a local team. Just a few years later, he started doing the play-by-plays.

Graeme chased his interests into high school and postsecondary. He pursued broadcasting, journalism and communications in his studies and rounded out his experience with volunteering. Soon enough, he found his way to Algonquin.

Graeme recalls a piece of advice he got at orientation from Jim Kyte, Dean of the School of Hospitality & Tourism: “You only get out of it what you put into it.” Throughout the program, Graeme found that to be more and more true. So he worked hard and put in all he had.

Sport Business Management is an intense and hands-on program, with students doing field work at least 16 hours a week. Over three terms, students get nearly 700 hours of real-world experience—and that, Graeme says, is the key to the program.

Graeme did his internship with the Ottawa Fury Soccer Club. That landed him a full-time job after graduation, which later evolved into a fulfilling career.

Graeme took a childhood dream and, with a little help from Algonquin, made it his calling. His lifelong passion for sports is rivalled only by his love for his family—Graeme is married to his best friend, Jeannie (a fellow Algonquin graduate from Travel and Tourism), and has two children. Graeme’s other passions include a good coffee, a smooth scotch and a rich mac-and-cheese (not all at the same time, of course).

When we asked Graeme what advice he had for new graduates and fellow alumni, he said the same thing Jim Kyte told him nearly 10 years ago.

“You only get out of it what you put into it.”