SIMCOE, Ont. – Cable pioneer and community TV stalwart William "Barry" Grainger died January 29 after a short battle with cancer. He was 63.
Grainger had a 40-year history in the industry, beginning as a cable technician at Grand River Cable. He worked for a number of cable companies in southwestern Ontario and also spent some 15 years at the CRTC.
But, he really made a mark at independent cable and telephone company Amtelecom, where he was community program co-ordinator at Amtelecom Cable 5 from 1992 until his death.
Grainger (pictured) was known for his can-do spirit. He and his team of volunteers were well known throughout Simcoe and Aylmer and the other communities served by Amtelecom’s cable systems. If the cable channel needed some equipment, and it wasn’t in the budget to purchase it, chances are Grainger would just go ahead and build it.
"He was a real hands-on guy," said Amtelecom president and CEO Michael Andrews."
"Somebody like that is really hard to replace. Not too many people have the technic
al aptitude and the artistic aptitude, too… They’re almost impossible shoes to fill.
"His volunteers had so much respect for him because he had such high standards for what went on the air."
Prior to his arrival at Amtelecom, there was precious little in the way of community programming with the likes of news, bingo, and event coverage that Grainger spearheaded.
Grainger is survived by his wife Patricia, daughters Kathleen and Laura Grainger-Hacking and her husband Jason of Penticton, British Columbia and Erin of Montreal, sister Bernice Uebele and his brother David.
