Scott Stanfield
Record staff
Marty Douglas’ talents extend beyond the world of real estate. The managing broker for RE/MAX Ocean Pacific Realty and graduate of Dale Carnegie is also a moderator, writer and musical theatre performer.
“My mother was part of a theatre group, and they always did readings at our house. Sometimes when they were short a character I got to read a part,” said Douglas, who grew up in Campbell River after emigrating from England with his family at age five.
His amateur theatre career got rolling with the CoVal Choristers in the early-’80s. His first production was Jesus Christ Superstar at the Sid Williams Theatre. Appearances in Beauty and the Beast, Kiss Me Kate, Cabaret, Honk, Curtains and most recently The Drowsy Chaperone followed.
Douglas, who recently turned 70, was president of the CoVal Choristers Society, which purchased the church on Harmston Avenue in Courtenay and turned it into a theatre.
“It’s a great little performing venue for 200 seats, for all those organizations that the Sid, which has say 500 seats on a good night, is too big for, and too expensive,” said Douglas, who sits on the Sid Williams Theatre board of directors.
“The Sid’s under very good management. They’re exploring partnerships with a number of other entities in the community.”
Douglas attended the University of Victoria while obtaining a commission with the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve. He moved to the Valley in 1969, and has been in real estate since 1970.
He has served as director and president of the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB), president of the B.C. Real Estate Association, chairman of the Real Estate Council of B.C., and chairman of the Real Estate Errors and Omissions Corporation of B.C. He was named an honorary member of VIREB in 2010.
He has served on other boards including the Town of Comox Advisory Planning Commission and the Comox Valley Cultural Centre Society.
Douglas writes a monthly column for Real Estate Marketing, and has written columns on community issues for The Record.
He was named Outstanding Citizen by the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce in 1992. Another accolade came in 2005 when he was named Philanthropist of the Year by the Comox Valley Arts Council.
The Rotarian also served as a director and president of Comox Valley Tourism, which until 2009 was the destination marketing organization for the Valley.
In 2010, Douglas co-ordinated the entertainment component of the Olympic Torch ceremony in the Valley.