Chris Talbot Passes Away

93.3 The Peak FM, The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, and the City of Port Alberni, lost a great one on Sunday.

I was shocked, shattered, and confused when I got the call Sunday night that Chris had died. I wanted so dearly to write something here to share my thoughts on this the last couple of days, but it wasn't until today that a notice was officially sent out by company management addressing the issue to the public.

I know it is a small town and most of you have heard this news already, but I hope that given the circumstances you understand and respect my reasons for not addressing this until now.

This is the notice that was sent out to staff and the media today:

Chris Talbot passes away.

We have lost one of the great small market broadcasters in Canada. Chris Talbot, Operations and Sales Manager of CJAV-FM, 93.3 The Peak, Port Alberni, B.C., suffered a massive heart attack and passed away on Sunday.

His many friends and co-workers in the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group are in shock and deeply saddened by this unexpected news. Chris was a kind, caring and friendly soul.

Chris spent his entire 12-year broadcasting career in Port Alberni and oversaw the station through ownership changes and the successful conversion to FM.

He was a strong supporter of Port Alberni and lived a life of community support and giving. Chris was very active with many local causes and organizations including Raise-A-Reader, BNI, Under 17 World Hockey Championships, Alberni Bulldogs Hockey Club, Port Alberni Association for Community Living and the Alberni Valley Emergency Preparedness Committee.

Chris Talbot was 48 and is survived by his wife Marsha. He will be sorely missed.

For those wishing to send cards:

CJAV-FM

3296 Third Avenue

Port Alberni, BC

V9Y 4E1

Donations is Chris Talbot’s name can be made to:

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Port Alberni

Box 255, Port Alberni, BC. V9Y 7M7

Or

Canadian Diabetes Association, Alberni Valley & District Branch

Box 1047, Port Alberni BC. V9Y 7L9

My thoughts and feelings on Chris? Wow, where to begin!

First and foremost, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Chris. Back in the summer of 2003 a friend tipped me off to a Hockey Play-by-Play job open in Port Alberni, BC. I found the job posting, and sent an email to Chris with my resume and play-by-play demo. Not 20 minutes later, I was surprised to see an email already from Chris.

He said he was very impressed with my play-by-play work, and we immediately talked about duties and salary to see if me coming to Port Alberni would be a possibility.

Initially, it looked like it wasn't going to happen. Due to the size of AV1240am and the state of the economy of Port Alberni at the time, the job wasn't paying much.

I told Chris that in my current job I was working not only a play-by-play voice but also a morning show host and sports guy. I said that although I really wanted to get out to B.C, and into the BCHL, I wasn't able to take a pay cut to do it.

Chris responded to this by saying that AV1240 was also looking for a morning show host at the same time.....but he wasn't too hot on having his hockey guy also being his morning guy. He didn't believe that one person could do both jobs without one or the other suffering.

I had to convince him that not only could do both gigs, but that I could them WELL. I stressed that I was currently in a situation like this and it wasn't too bad.

I still remember this vividly- He made me send him some additional audio of me hosting my morning show. He said he had to be sure he "wasn't hiring some clown"

HAHA.

Long story short, Chris took a chance on me and a shot on me and believed in me. And here I am.

Now it wasn't ALL roses of course. Radio is a tough business at times. Conflicts come up often, and differences of opinion happen all the time. Being that I was the morning guy, AND the hockey guy, we had too many things to name that we argued and debated and discussed for hours on end.

Of course we didn't always agree. But the KEY is that in the end, we always were honest with each other and respected each other and the other opinion and side to the argument.

Chris taught me many many many things, and I think I probably taught him a thing or two as well. Or at least I convinced him to re-evaluate things. I remember when I first came out here when we were preparing for the first hockey season- on a small budget. I said that we NEEDED to have an Internet Broadcast. I had just come from 5 straight Championship teams and two Royal Bank Cup Tournaments with the OCN Blizzard, and I knew how important it was for the parents and families of the players all around North America to be able to hear their "boys" Chris said he would love to do the Internet Broadcast, but it was just an expense that couldn't be covered. All he was focusing on was LOCAL because that was the duty of the station- to serve the community. I made Chris promise that he would try to make the Internet Broadcast work. He said he would. Long story short, he did hours and hours of research to find just the right Internet Broadcast host at the right price to make it all work. I still remember the smile on his face when he came to me in March when the season was done with all the Internet-Listener numbers provided by the company.....We were one of their most listened to broadcasts!! This company had pro teams of all sports from the states as their clients, along with NCAA schools and High School Sports. We ended up in the Top 10. I remember we were both quite proud at making it happen, and making it a success. The next season, the high number of listeners made it something that businesses were quite interested in sponsoring.

I will never forget the things Chris did to make it all happen while on a budget that was tighter than tight. He was a fighter and a battler and a stubborn guy that just managed to somehow make it work.

He was equally strong through two ownership changes, both bringing about big changes in how things were run and what his responsibilities were. While I'm sure he might not have always liked the changes, he didn't for one second waver from his burning devotion to his job and his station.

This that I will most fondly remember about Chris, and what I will respect him the most for.

What I will miss most will be our 30 to 45 second long between-morning-show-duties chats we would have about last nights Bulldog game, or Canuck game, or NHL game, or insert sporting event here. He loved sports as much as I do.

The BULLDOGS. He had them on the radio from day 1 in Port Alberni. He even had the Junior B Bandits games broadcasted! He never missed a Bulldog game as far as I can remember. He was very proud of the product the radio station put out all the time, but I think he was especially proud when it came to the Bulldog Broadcasts.

One final note on Chris- He never said anything bad about anybody behind their back. If he didn't like what you were doing, or not doing, or how you were acting- He would let you know it, straight up. He would give you a nice compliment from time to time about your work, but not very often.

This one really blew my mind one day a couple of years back. I came home from work and I was frustrated with things at the station, inevitably involving Chris. My fiancé said "You should cut him a break. He said last night at the Hockey game that the best thing he ever did was hire you"

I don't know why he never said this to me. Maybe he was worried about my ego or what I might think of his gruff exterior. I don't know why, but I know I never forgot it and I never will.

Chris taught me many things. Too many to mention when it comes to computers. He was a tech-head through and through!

When I came to Port Alberni, I was used to having free reign, doing whatever I wanted, saying whatever I wanted. That changed in a hurry. He taught me respect, rules, responsibility and to always think of your entire audience, not just the audience you KNOW. I didn't always enjoy this, but what hurts me most is that I didn't get a chance in the end to thank him for all of this because I know that as a broadcaster and a professional and as a person, I am much better off with all of these lessons learned.

He was a boss but more importantly a great man and a friend.

I will miss you Chris, may you rest in peace buddy.

I need a Kleenex.

Hammer