REGINA – This week will see the celebration of a major milestone for 620 CKRM.
On Saturday night, July 18, Conexus Arts Centre will host 100 Years in One Night, a gala celebration marking the 100th anniversary of CKRM.
The actual anniversary of the station, which began July 27 1926 as 665 CJRM in Moose Jaw, won’t be for another few days after that. But the July 18 event promises to be a night of nostalgia as they gather the voices who left an impact on audiences throughout a century on the air.
Among the personalities who will be featured as 620 CKRM Icons will be Rod Pedersen, Colin Lovequist, Geoff Currier, Jim Smalley, Perry Nyhus, James Allyn, Fred King, Willy Cole and Lorne Harasen. The plan is to unveil ten more individuals who contributed behind the scenes as 620 CKRM Builders, and they will be honoured on Saturday as well.
The evening will be the culmination of activities at CKRM marking the centennial throughout the year, with regular features about the icons of CKRM and the biggest news stories in the province. The station also launched on Jan. 1 its countdown of the 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.
At a news conference at 620 CKRM on Monday, Lovequist and Nyhus as well as Brad Bazin, program director of CKRM, spoke of what the centennial celebration night will mean.
“I think one thing that really stands out to me is the memories that people have been sharing with us,” Nyhus said.
He pointed to an instance where a woman came by the station to share a memory of her mom who had been awarded the Mother of the Year on CKRM in the 1950s.
Nyhus said she “brought us a beautiful photo, a handwritten letter. So what this station has meant from that time period, before that, memories that we may not remember. Up until today, this station has meant so much to so many people. And I think what we're celebrating here is not just a milestone, but a memory of all the wonderful things that have taken place, and all the wonderful things that are likely to happen in the next 10, 20, 100 years.”
Lovequist said it is “definitely all about the people over the years and the communities that we've helped out. And trust me when I say there's 1,900 different communities in Saskatchewan, we've probably been to a good majority of them for different functions or different community events and just, you know, giving back, trying to be a mirror and a reflection on this society and what's going on around us, and to help out. And with all the great causes that we've been involved with, that's probably a big part of my tenure is we've woven our fabric of community into CKRM for these 100 years.”
“And just the people we've been around, you know, you always say you surround yourself with good people to make things happen. And we've always had a great crew. Wherever we've been or whoever we worked with, it's the people as a whole that make 620 CKRM as what it is today, which is a heritage station and a station that's been looked up to for 100 years now, since day one, since 1926.”
Not every radio station is able to make it to a 100th anniversary. As for why CKRM had that staying power, Bazin pointed to the “commitment of ownership to the product, I think that's probably one of the biggest reasons why.”
“It's been the ownership, the partnerships we've had with our sports products that have been absolutely very important to the radio station. And the fact that it has always had incredible talent on its airwaves that go out into the community and meet the needs of the community.”
Bazin noted that Harvard Media “not only will have CKRM celebrating 100 years this year — we have The Wolf celebrating 30, and we have GX94 next year turning 100 as well. So two of the iconic radio stations of the province are owned by Harvard Media and will turn 100 years old.”
Lovequist pointed to the loyalty of those who tune in regularly.
“Very loyal listeners,” Lovequist said. "And I think it's just, again, every piece of the puzzle has been put together. We've got the promotions team, we've got the sales team, we've got — you know, our love for our listeners has really expanded the length of the station, you know, 100 years. And because we've been there, done that, we like to do and help out others.”
He pointed to feedback he received from people who say that “when the cows are being milked in the morning, they turn us on, they leave us on all night. And it's a commitment that they've shown us and that we've tried to provide to them as well just to be that station, that go-to station that's going to give them everything they need, whether it's news, whether it's sports, community events, and make sure we've got the finger on the pulse of what's going on in Saskatchewan. I think that's a big part of it.”
Lovequist also pointed out that a majority of the staff is from Saskatchewan, which he pointed to as a reason for CKRM’s staying power. He noted “that we can relate to what's going on out there, and both Perry and I came from a small farming community, so there's a lot of things that we definitely can relate to and we can see the needs of what the community needs and we try to cater to them as best as we can. And I think that's a big part of the attraction.”
For those unable to make it to the Conexus Arts Centre on July 18, the event will be available live on Access TV at 8 p.m. that night.
Press on the button below to hear the entire raw audio from the July 13 news conference from Harvard Media in Regina.
