Submitted by Mark Strashok, 660 News employee from 2006 to 2026
It was a radio reunion for all the wrong reasons, but it was still one heck of a night.
A who’s who of Calgary media gathered on Friday, July 31st to say goodbye to two of the city’s longest-running AM radio stations.
It had been more three weeks since Rogers Sports & Media made the decision to close 660 NewsRadio (CFFR-AM) Calgary and Sportsnet 960 The Fan (CFAC-AM), citing declining audience numbers and shrinking advertising revenue.
After the initial shock of losing your job, thoughts among staff turned to how do we say goodbye? Say thank you to listeners. And just gather one last time.
Morning show anchors Andrea Montgomery and Kelly Turner took the lead, stating that we’d have a party, inviting anyone who had ever worked at the stations, anyone who ever knew someone who worked at the station, and anyone who ever listened!
Yes, there were several listeners of each station in attendance. And a party it was!
Staff members from past and present – on-air or behind the scenes – and members of local media showed up at Cold Garden Brewery in Calgary’s Inglewood neighbourhood to raise a glass and reminisce with old colleagues.
Andrea and Kelly started the evening by thanking all those that showed up, spoke about the work we did over the last 20 years, and highlighted those that worked there from the very beginning, including Lisa Grant (23 years), Todd Kaufman (22 years), Pete Curtis (20 years), and myself (20 years).
I also made brief remarks detailing “The History of 660 News” and how the station started in the spring of 2006, becoming a go-to destination on the radio dial, most especially after the 2013 Southern Alberta floods.
It’s a weird thing having a party to mark the end of your job and the closing of two radio stations that served a city for decades, but it was also great to see so many old faces from both stations and relive old memories.
If you tallied up all the broadcasting experience in the crowd that night, I’m quite sure it would top 1,000 years!
A big thank you to everyone that came by and to everyone who listened to 660 or 960 over the years.
Attendees (apologies for those not on this list as I likely missed more than a few):
Current 660 and 960 employees:
Andrea Montgomery, Kelly Turner, Aazam Nanji, Michelle Yi, Lauryn Heintz, Alejandro Melgar, Shilpa Downton, Mike Gazzola, Nadia Moharib, Tim Schutz, Mark Strashok, Matt Rose, George Rusic, Logan Gordon, Tanya Blakney, Todd Kaufman, Pete Curtis, Ian Busby, Sandra Prusina, Curtis Geroux, Rob Priest, Phil Wood, Art Factora, Peter Klein, Connor Gronsdahl
Former 660/960 employees and others from across Calgary Media:
Melissa Ramsay, Jeff Hubbard, Billie Jo Ross, Nick Taylor, Dominic Terry, Tammy Byrka, Dave Will, Trace St. John, Tiffany Goodwein, Kevin Usselman, Ryan Running Rabbit, Jeff Slack, Ryan Ballantyne, Perushka Gopalkista, Jillian Code, Gaby Rios, Ryan Pinder, Nick Blakeney, Sarah Offin, Bill Mcfarlane, Bob Sumner, Amanda Nelson, Craig Lester, Tim Parent, Taylor Braat, Ryan Pike, Paul Dunphy, Dave Rutherford, Sue Deyell, Al Molnar, Dione Wearmouth, Kayla Bruch, Silvana Benolich, Lori Gibbs, Emma Kilburn-Smith, Lisa MacDonald, Jim Ripley, Rick Sadler, Laura Knop, Leon Tansey, Duncan Elias, Phoenix Philips, Henna Saeed, Jodi Hughes, Jimmy Hughes, Valerie Nieboer, Joel Mendelson, Kenny Mason, Mark Decoux
