Angus MacKechnie (Imagineer Creative Director and CEO):
This morning we awoke to the sad news of the death of one of our wonderful Board Members, Steve Stewart. Steve was a valued part of our governance team and a long-term supporter of Imagineer and many other organisations across Coventry and Warwickshire, with a strong focus on working with young people.
As the current CEO of Imagineer, I am so aware of the huge debt of gratitude that this organisation owes to Steve over such a long period of time. As a team, we have all been so saddened to hear of Steve’s situation and the speed with which events unfolded – and I know that my predecessor, Jane Hytch, will be incredibly sad as he was such a personal supporter to her and her work here.
Steve was one of my first contacts here at the Powerhouse, as he was part of the interview panel that appointed me – and on arrival in Coventry, I was soon having a coffee in Earlsdon with him to talk about the quirks of the city, how to reach out to the community and much else (mutual left-leaning politics featured heavily). His welcome to me was so generous, warm and considerate and I remain incredibly grateful for that.
Jane Hytch (Imagineer Co-Founder and former CEO):
Steve was a highly valued member of Board supporting especially the development of Transformations and Teach Make as part of his city wide commitment to the career development of young people and the creative curriculum development in schools.
His help and advice ensured that both programmes created genuine opportunities for the least culturally engaged children and young people. This work has led to research and publications which will lead to a greater understanding of the value the arts can bring to learning and highlight the growing creative industries as real career prospects for young people.
I would like to thank Steve for his commitment and passion to this work and how it enabled Imagineer to grow its ambition as a company to make the work more accessible to everyone.
John McGuigan (Imagineer Chair):
Imagineer is an organisation devoted to bringing out and developing the best in people and communities. Today we wake up to the very sad news that Steve Stewart, one of our longstanding and devoted Board Trustees, has died from cancer of the liver. His death comes only 3 ½ weeks after his cancer diagnosis.
Steve was important to Imagineer, but also to many other organisations across Coventry and Warwickshire and also nationally in terms of his leadership role in the Careers sector. These organisations will join Imagineer in celebrating the enormous contribution Steve has made to Coventry and Warwickshire.
We are sure that many more tributes to Steve will appear over the next few days and weeks, but in the meantime, the Imagineer team and Board all extend our support and good wishes to his family and friends and remember Steve with huge warmth and gratitude.