TORONTO – Joe Easingwood, Alan Walton, Lowell Green, Harv Kroeker, Darrel Janz, Bill Haugland, Mike Critch and Bas Jamieson will be honoured with the RTNDA Canada Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2006.
The awards will be presented at Radio Television News Directors Association regional professional development seminars in Victoria, Winnipeg and Sudbury in April and May, and at the Atlantic Regional meeting in St. John’s, in June during the RTNDA National Conference.
The RTNDA Lifetime Achievement Award is one of the highest honours bestowed by the organization. It was created in 2002 to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service and continued excellence during the course of their career in broadcast journalism.
The winners’ bios are as follows:
Joe Easingwood of CFAX Radio Victoria. Easingwood has enjoyed a radio career spanning half a century and is synonymous with news and information on C-FAX 1070, “Victoria’s News Authority.” His first full time job in radio came in 1955 as a disc jockey at CJVI Victoria. He went on to become News Director as well as Program and Operations Manager at that station. In 1981, Easingwood joined CFAX and helped build that station’s award-winning news department. He is known for his support of many local charities and good works.
Alan Walton of CH Vancouver Island (CHEK-TV) Victoria. Walton is the senior news photographer at CH Vancouver Island. He has been with the station for 33 years. Walton arrived at CHEK, as it was then known, as a film editor. After several months he moved into a new role as news photographer, a position he still proudly holds today. Walton is a role model, not just for other news photographers, but for all of his colleagues.
Harv Kroeker of Golden West Radio, Altona, Manitoba. Kroeker celebrated his 40th anniversary with Golden West Radio in 2005 and has been the morning news voice on CFAM Altona for as long as many listeners can remember. He has anchored countless municipal, provincial and federal election broadcasts and has also broadcast play-by-play hockey and curling. In 1991, Harv and wife Ann were chosen as Altona’s 1991 Citizens of the Year in recognition of their longstanding support of an annual campaign to help needy families at Christmas.
Darrel Janz of CFCN-TV Calgary. Janz is one of the most recognized faces in Calgary. He has been with CFCN Television for more than 30 years and is the co-anchor and co-producer of Calgary’s number one newscast. In addition to his television duties, Janz anchors the morning news on “The Eagle,” the local radio station in his community of High River. He spent more than 25 years teaching broadcast journalism in Alberta and is involved in numerous community fund-raising activities.
Lowell Green of CFRA Radio Ottawa. Green’s broadcast career began in 1956 at CKPC in Brantford, Ontario and quickly took him to CFRA Radio in Ottawa by 1960. There, he launched the most explosive, controversial and effective open-line program Ottawa had ever seen – a program that continues to this day. Not only is Green a broadcaster who speaks passionately about issues of importance to Canada, he’s renowned for his contributions to a variety of community service endeavours. He has been cited specifically by The Canadian Red Cross and the Canadian Armed Forces for his fundraising efforts following the ice storm that wreaked havoc in eastern Ontario and western Quebec in 1998. Green also raised funds for victims of a tornado in Aylmer, Quebec and the Manitoba floods.
Bill Haugland of CTV Montreal. Haugland was hired as a mail boy by CFCF Radio in 1961 and moved up to reporter, combining radio and television duties at the combined station, before becoming a full-time television journalist at CFCF-TV in 1965. He has covered numerous major events during the past 45 years, and helped Montrealers navigate through some of the most difficult moments in their history. In 1977, Haugland moved into the anchor chair of what was then known as “Pulse News.” He has occupied that seat ever since with a smooth delivery style that Montrealers trust and respect.
Mike Critch of St. John’s, NL. Critch worked at VOCM Radio for more than three decades, before retiring. His career began as a public relations specialist for the U.S. military on bases in Newfoundland and Greenland during the Second World War. Critch was a longstanding crime reporter at VOCM, and became legendary for his work on the station.
Bas Jamieson of St. John’s, NL. Jamieson retired last year after more than 50 years in radio and television news, in Newfoundland, British Columbia and Ontario. He’s worked both in front of the microphone as a newscaster and behind the scenes in a variety of management positions. Jamieson wound up his lengthy career in 2005 as host of a popular talk show on VOCM.
