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Chartered accountant awarded a lifetime achievement award

A mid-Island chartered accountant was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC.

A prominent mid-Island chartered accountant was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC.

J.S. (Woody) Hayes qualified as a chartered accountant in 1973, subsequently working for Westpres Publications as controller and general manager for newspapers in Duncan, Powell River, Sechelt, Victoria and Parksville.

In 1975, Hayes returned to public practice and became a founding partner of Hayes Stewart Little and Company, which now has 11 partners and 45 staff. He oversaw expansion in Nanaimo in 1982 and Victoria in 1998.

In 1986, Hayes led a community effort to bring Malaspina University-College  to the Cowichan Valley. He was then asked to serve on the board of directors, becoming board chairman in 1989. Hayes also contributed to the institution as a cofounder of the Malaspina University College Foundation, where he established the Woody Hayes Award for business students.

More recently, Hayes was the Island spokesman for the pro-HST Smart Tax Alliance, and has won numerous awards, including the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.