CHAB radio broadcasts live from Caronport
By Amy Robertson
T
Craig Hemingway (left) and Rob Carnie (right), hosts of CHAB 800's morning show, broadcast live from Edwards Chapel August 12.
Caronport was their fourth stop on CHAB’s Ten Town Tour, during which the morning show hosts will visit 10 towns in southern Saskatchewan to promote their radio station and each town on the tour.
Caronport residents streamed in and out of the broadcast area throughout the three-hour show to meet the hosts many of them listen to each morning.
Hemingway and Carnie interviewed five people about their roles at Briercrest: Rob Schellenberg, Briercrest’s director of communications, Stan Peters, the director of athletics, Scott Finch, the assistant professor of music and worship arts, Dwayne Uglem, the president, and Sarah Driedger, a student who was involved with student government in the 2009-2010 school year.
In each town on the Ten Town Tour, the hosts hold a draw for free tickets to the Tunnels of Moose Jaw. Each winner qualifies for a draw for a scooter at the end of the summer. Caronport’s winner and qualifier was Ken Pike of the Public Relations department.
“It’s been a great morning. We really enjoyed it,” said Hemingway on-air toward the end of the show.
Highlights?
“Frankly, the reception we received here,” said Carnie, referring to the coffee, muffins, and welcome from Schellenberg, who helped coordinate the morning. Ian Isaak of Information Systems even arrived before 6 a.m. to help them set up.
The hosts noted that Caronport was the first town to offer a tech to help—the previous three mornings, they’d set up alone.
“It was like we were somebody!” Hemingway exclaimed with a laugh.
“It was awesome,” said Carnie.
Hemingway also said he’d really enjoyed hearing people’s stories throughout the tour.
“This place brings in people from all over North America who end up making Caronport their home. That’s interesting,” he said.
He added that he’s always been impressed with the calibre of people he meets from Caronport, speaking in particular of Rusty Dean, a host on one of CHAB 800’s sister stations, Country 100. Dean, who graduated from Caronport High School in 2006, first worked in radio broadcasting on High School Confidential, a program that CHAB operates on Sunday mornings.
Carnie said he’d last visited the Hildebrand Chapel nearly three years ago for the funeral of Royden Taylor, Caronport’s former fire chief, mayor, and owner of the Caronport Service Station.
“He was Mr. Caronport,” Carnie said, adding that his friend had always been the first to phone the station with news from Caronport.
“I really miss him.”
Carnie explained that CHAB chose the stops on their Ten Town Tour based on their listenership and their sponsors, describing their tour stops as the station’s “ten strongest communities.”
The Ten Town Tour began in Assiniboia August 9 and will wrap up in Watrous August 20. Visit DiscoverMooseJaw.com for details.