Melodies of Gratitude

Guests were treated to an afternoon of music by the Saskatchewan Brass, led by Dean McNeill. The event was held in Convocation Hall located in the historic College Building, recently renamed the President MacKinnon Building to honour the outgoing U of S president. U of S Board of Governor Chair Nancy Hopkins had just made the naming announcement the evening before on June 14, 2012 at a special dinner to honour MacKinnon who will step down as U of S president on June 30, 2012. Springtime Melodies was the first event held in the newly named space.

After a beautiful musical performance by the Saskatoon Brass, Chancellor Vera Pezer, patron member of the Greystone Circle, spoke about her reasons for supporting the U of S through an estate gift and about the significance of greystone and how it relates to the Greystone Circle. "Greystone is distinctive and durable. Our contributions are very distinctive, we've each found in our own way how to contribute to the U of S and our contributions will definitely be durable," said Pezer.

Greystone Circle members, Brian Rossnagel spoke on behalf of his wife Laurel and himself about their reasons for supporting the U of S. The Rossnagels, both former employees of the U of S, explained that the "U of S had been a part of (their) life for the past 35 years…and it seemed appropriate to give something back."

To complete the memorable afternoon, President MacKinnon addressed the guests with a speech about his time as president of the U of S. "For every day (and) for every year that I've been here I consider myself fortunate. Being president has afforded me the time to spend with people who are connected to and care about the university and has been the absolute highlight of my life - and for that I want to thank you very much."