Connie Sinclair, 77, on Feb. 2, after an ongoing battle with cancer. Sinclair, best known for her time as a news reader at CBC Radio in Toronto, was a third generation broadcaster as the daughter of former CJAD Montreal news director and Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Hall of Famer Gord Sinclair Jr. and granddaughter of CFRB host, author, and “Front Page Challenge” staple Gordon Sinclair Sr. She anchored at Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM), before joining CBC Toronto. Sinclair dedicated herself to animal welfare causes outside of her journalism pursuits.
Ron “Woody” Wood, 81, on Jan. 17. Wood had his sights set on studying veterinary medicine when he was offered a job at CKMP-AM Midland, ON, and apparently flipped a coin and accepted the offer. He arrived in Ottawa nine months later, getting his start as a news reader at CKPM-AM. By 1965, he was the station’s Parliamentary correspondent and was later named Bureau Chief for United Press International Radio. He also worked as eastern Ontario stringer for the Globe & Mail and did voiceover work for commercials and documentaries. In 1967 he left radio for a job at what was then CJOH-TV News in Ottawa. In 1971, he was promoted to the position of Promotions Manager and then Director of Creative Services, a position created for him where he was responsible for on-air promotion, corporate public relations, commercial production, sales and viewer community relations. Wood eventually returned to Calgary, serving as News Director for CKXL and CHFM until 1989. In 1990, he went to work for Reform Party leader Preston Manning as his press secretary and communications advisor, and later served as executive assistant and communications advisor to Opposition Leader John Reynolds, in addition to communications assignments for Stephen Harper during his tenure as Leader of the Opposition. Wood published “And God Created Manyberries” in 2007, which was Shortlisted for the Howard O’Hagan Award for Short Fiction and the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal.
