Frank Martina, 76, on Oct. 3, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. Hailing from Big Beaver, SK near the Montana border, Martina got into radio in the mid-1960s after winning a high school announcer competition hosted by CKCK Regina. He went on to work at stations in Weyburn and Moose Jaw before joining CJIB-AM Vernon in 1971. Martina had the distinction of being the longest-serving morning show host at CJIB, which became KISS FM and later Beach Radio. He retired in 2007, but returned to host a Saturday afternoon classics show that became a station staple. It came to an end in Dec. 2020, just months before Martina would have celebrated 50 years with the station. The Vernon Community Radio Society (VCRS) had hoped to return Martina to the airwaves with a revival of his Saturday afternoon show.
Steve Orest Andrusiak, 73, on Sept. 5 of cancer. Andrusiak’s journalism career included serving as Executive Producer of Television at CBC News Toronto, and a decade-long run as Executive Producer of TV News & Current Affairs at CBC PEI, in addition to roles with CFRN-AM Edmonton and CTV National News. From 2001-05, he chaired the Communication Arts Division at Fanshawe College and later taught Media Ethics and TV Journalism at Western University. With a deep dedication to his Ukrainian heritage, Andrusiak also hosted half-hour program “Nasha Kasha” on Radio Western (CHRW-FM) about Ukrainian life in Ontario. Starting in 2012, he served as President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (Ontario) and worked with London-based not-for-profit Canadigm as a media coordinator, helping digitally record historic sites, documents and artifacts related to Canadian history, in addition to producing and directing documentary “100 Years from Vimy.”
Duane Grandbois, 75, on Sept. 1. Grandbois had a more than 50-year career, beginning in his hometown of Weyburn, SK. From Saskatchewan, he went to Red Deer in 1976 where he was Program Director for CKRD-AM and FM, hosted the morning show and served as weatherman on the supper hour TV newscast. He went on to host afternoon drive on CKCK Regina and then CJCA Edmonton. From there, he landed at CKOV Kelowna in the early 1990s where he hosted afternoon drive and later talk radio. In 2005, he went into sales full-time with Pattison Media in Vernon, while also continuing to host a Saturday morning show and do on-location broadcasts.