The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
It's Jamie Smalley's dream to follow the path of people like Bob Cole and Harry Neale by broadcasting NHL games. Now the Flin Flon radio personality, born and raised in the community, is taking the first of what will be many steps toward that goal. In two weeks, he will leave CFAR-590 to assume the sports director's position at CJ-1240 in The Pas, a job that includes play-by-play duties for that community's wildly popular MJHL team, the OCN Blizzard. "It will be tough to leave the hometown, but you have to go on to bigger and better things," said the graduate of Western Academy Broadcast College in Saskatoon. A lifelong sports buff, Smalley was a student at Hapnot Collegiate when he discovered what he wanted to do with his life. Sports broadcasting, preferably hockey, was clearly for him, his role model being the voice of the Winnipeg Jets, Curt Keilback. "It's a good challenge and it's fun to call the games," he commented. "It's exciting to be part of the action. You never really know what's going to happen in a game." During his teenage years, Smalley picked up invaluable experience working part-time at CFAR and performing play-by-play duties for a handful of Flin Flon Bomber games broadcast on cable access. With his broadcasting diploma in hand, Smalley returned to CFAR a year ago, providing occasional play-by-play and colour commentary for the station's Bomber coverage. While the Blizzard will embody much of the focus of his new job, Smalley will also have a regular DJ shift in The Pas, and that's fine with him. "Being in radio doesn't feel like a job," he said. "Things change on a daily basis. You have a bit of fun, talk about music and sports, and try to entertain people." Smalley's last regular on-air shift will be this Friday, July 16, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. He will spend next week in the newsroom, with his last day being Friday, July 23.
