Wayne Bjorgan, 80, on Jan. 26.
Bjorgan arrived in Barrie, ON from Saskatchewan in 1961 to work at CKBB 950. Bjoran would stay with the station for three decades, climbing the ladder from news director to general manager of CKBB, CKCB 1400 Collingwood, and CKVR-TV, and eventually president of Barrie Broadcasting. Bjorgan’s community involvement included 10 years helming the Georgian College Foundation. He also served on the boards of the Women and Children’s Shelter of Barrie and Seven South Street Treatment Centre of Orillia.
Bob Picken, 86, on Jan. 30 of cancer.
Picken, or “Pick” as he was nicknamed, was a legend on the Manitoba sports scene, both as a competitor in baseball, curling and golf, in addition to his work covering sports. Picken, who grew up in North End Winnipeg, began his career covering midget and juvenile hockey for the Winnipeg Citizen. He worked at CKY Radio in the 1950s and in 1965, joined CJOB as the sports director and started doing play-by-play for the Winnipeg Junior Jets and Canada’s National team broadcasts. He started serving as the voice of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the late 1960s. After moving over to CBC, where he worked in both radio and TV, he was the radio voice of the Grey Cup for 15 consecutive years. Picken was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1992 and also on the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Media Roll of Honour, in addition to the baseball, curling, hockey and golf halls of fame.
Emily Griffiths, 96, on Jan. 30.
Griffiths and her husband Frank owned Western International Communications (WIC). The company’s operations included television, radio, specialty television and satellite distribution via a majority interest in Canadian Satellite Communications (Cancom). Operating from 1982 to 2000, the company was acquired by Canwest Global, with a takeover battle seeing Shaw assume WIC’s interest in Cancom. The family also owned the Vancouver Canucks NHL franchise for more than two decades, starting in 1974. Griffiths was predeceased by her husband Frank in 1994, at age 77.
Donald Bruce “Rick” Richardson, 83, on Jan. 22.
Richardson entered broadcast sales, following successful careers with the Royal Canadian Navy and Investors Syndicate. He started in sales with CHNS Halifax, moving on to CKGM Montreal, and then sales manager and eventual station manager at CKWW Windsor. Returning to his roots in London, Rick purchased CJOE in 1972, changing the call letters to CJBK and the format to Top 40 hit music. In 1980, CJBK added an FM sister staton CJBX-FM, the first country station in Southwestern Ontario. He also went on to acquire CHOK Sarnia. His retirement years were spent as president of Richardson Investment Corporation, spending much of his time in Nova Scotia and Florida.
David Dubnicoff, 75, on Jan. 20.
Dubnicoff was the controller at Moffat Communications, overseeing the CKY Radio and TV divisions in Winnipeg, starting in 1977. He retired in the late 1990s.
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