Fred Sherratt, 93, on April 22 with his family by his side. Sherratt got his start in radio in 1948 as an announcer at CKCL Truro, NS. In 1949, he moved to Northern Ontario where he was a salesman and announcer with Roy Thomson’s stations. By 1956, Sherratt had co-founded CFRS Simcoe, ON and served as its General Manager until 1960. It was then that he joined the CHUM organization and was named GM of CKPT Peterborough. Five years later, he returned to Nova Scotia to take over the helm of CJCH Radio in Halifax as Vice-President and General Manager. In 1969, Sherratt was named Vice-President of CHUM Limited and in 1971 joined CHUM and other investors to buy CJCH-TV, of which he was named President. Soon after, CHUM Limited acquired CKCW-TV Moncton, NB and CJCB-TV Sydney, NS which came under the umbrella of the Atlantic Television System and led to founding of the Atlantic Satellite Network. He went on to serve as President of ATV and Executive Vice-President and CEO of CHUM Limited, overseeing CHUM’s broadcast operations across the country from company headquarters in Toronto. He eventually retired as Chief Operations Officer, stepping down in late 2002 as Vice-Chairman, but continuing as a director and consultant. Sherratt served on many industry boards and committees over the years including as Chairman of the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement (BBM), a Director of the CTV Television Network, and on the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Board and Executive Committee. He was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame in 1995 and in 2008, received the first ever Ontario Association of Broadcasters’ Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009, he was honoured at the JUNO Awards, where he received the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award. Read more here.
Vic Folliott on April 21, following complications from a seizure. Folliott spent the entirety of his 50-year broadcasting career in Ontario. His early stops included hosting a country show on CKPC-AM Brantford in the early 1970s, before going on to become the founding Program Director of BX93 (CJBX-FM) London at station launch in 1980, in addition to on-air and Music Director responsibilities. From there, he spent 14 years at Great Lakes Broadcasting’s CKGL 96.7 (now CHYM 96.7) Kitchener as Operations Manager. A brief stint followed as General Manager at CKWR-FM Kitchener and then a turn in sales at KICX 106 Orillia. Folliott went on to help launch The Grand 101 (CICW-FM) Centre Wellington in 2014, serving as General Manager and hosting the morning show for the first year. He moved into sales, prior to retiring from the station in Sept. 2020. He’d most recently been hosting “In Studio and On The Road” on RogersTV in Kitchener, highlighting people and places in the Waterloo Region.
Don Daynard, 88, on April 20. Daynard began his broadcasting career as a junior copy boy at CFOS Owen Sound in 1953. From there, he made stops at CHEX-TV Peterborough, CKCR Kitchener, CJET Smiths Falls, and briefly CFGM Richmond Hill, before landing in Toronto where he spent the rest of his 50-year career. Daynard was on-air at CFRB, before joining CKFM in 1969 where he had a 12-year run with “Daynard’s Drive-In” in morning drive, in addition to hosting Saturday evening show “Lookin’ Back.” Daynard was lured over to the CHFI morning show in 1987, initially hosting the show solo, until being paired with co-host Erin Davis. He semi-retired in 1999, continuing to host “Saturday Night Oldies” on the station until 2004. Read more here. Watch Erin Davis’ tribute to Daynard below:
Bill Auchterlonie, 73, on April 5. Auchterlonie’s radio career began behind-the-scenes at CFRB Toronto, while studying art and film production at York University. He returned to radio in 1974, following his studies, with stops at CKMW Brampton, AM 710 (CJRN) Niagara Falls, and CHAM Hamilton. He landed at CKTB St. Catharines in 1986 where he hosted a morning talk show for a decade. He left radio in 1997, going on to serve as the Executive Director of the Kidney Foundation of Canada – Niagara District and the United Way of South Niagara. With an avid interest in all things art, Auchterlonie established the Inuksuk on the Lake Art Gallery in Niagara-on-the-Lake in 2017, promoting Inuit and Six Nations artists. He chaired the group that established a monument to Nikola Tesla in the region and served on the board of Rodman Hall and Willowbank School of Restoration Arts. With a lifelong interest in astrology, more recently Auchterlonie had been hosting the “Auchterlonie on Astrology” podcast and contributing astrology columns to Niagara Now.