Fred Merritt, 83, on Aug. 21. Merritt spent more than 50 years in radio at stations around Ontario, starting in Orillia in 1960 at the age of 19. From there, he was on-air at CFCO Chatham, before moving over to CKKW-AM Kitchener in 1966 and sister station CFCA-FM when it began broadcasting the following year, hosting a daily live show and taping a late night easy listening program called “Night Flight.” He was among those caught up in layoffs following CFCA’s acquisition by CHUM Limited in 1994, but resurfaced a year later, hosting “Merritt in Stereo” on 98.5 CKWR-FM. Merritt retired from the station in January 2011 at age 69.

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Chris Pearson, President of Acadia Broadcasting, has announced his transition to retirement, with Senior Vice-President Shelley Snodgrass to succeed him, effective Dec. 1. Pearson, who has spent nearly four decades with the company and held the role of president since 2016, will remain on in an advisory role to support the transition. He’ll also continue as President of the Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) and continue to serve on the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) CEO Radio Council. Based in Saint John, NB, Snodgrass has been with the company since 2016, holding roles including Vice-President, Sales. Read more here.

Tracey Connolly has been named Global Director of Broadcast Sales at Nautel, as longtime Senior Director of Broadcast Sales Wendell Lonergan retires after more than 47 years with the company. Based in Metro Halifax, Connolly’s sales background includes more than 17 years with Sysco in Atlantic Canada. Lonergan first joined Nautel in 1978 in research. Successive roles included Project Leader, Medium Wave Transmission, before being named Sales Manager, Middle East and North Africa in 2005. He’d been in his current role since 2012. Read more here.

Mike Crawley is headed to Washington, D.C. to cover the U.S. capital for CBC News. Crawley has been with the public broadcaster since 2005, initially as a reporter in Saint John, before joining the Toronto bureau where he’s been a Provincial Affairs reporter for the last 16 years.

 

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Damian Rickards (aka Mr. D), who recently announced his departure from JUMP! 106.9 (CKQB-FM) Ottawa, has joined 91.5 The Beat (CKBT-FM) Kitchener in middays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. weekdays. Rickards has previously done two separate stints hosting evenings on 91.5 The Beat.

Danger (aka Darren Grieve) is joining Rock 101 (CFMI-FM) Vancouver on weekends. Grieve has been working with the Canadian Traffic Network (CTN) for the last decade, heard on Rogers Sports & Media’s NewsRadio 1130 (CKWX-AM), and was the host of ResurreXtion Radio on the former SONiC RADiO (CKKS-FM). He rejoins Corus Radio, where he was a host on CFOX for nearly a decade.

Brenden Escott is the new host of Edmonton Oilers hockey on CHED 880. Escott will be heard during the Face-Off Show, each intermission, and on Oilers Overtime, in addition to hosting Inside Sports weeknights from 6 – 8 p.m. He’s been with CHED since 2018, initially producing Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer.

Leah Camenzind is now Executive Director of the TELUS Fund, overseeing finance, operations and program design. With TELUS since 2017, she previously led the TELUS originals film program and co-founded the TELUS independent film program, stewarding the investment of over $15 million into the production of more than 100 social-purpose films and series. She succeeds Elizabeth Friesen, who has retired from the position after 12 years.

Jinny Howe has been named Head of UCAN (U.S.-Canada) Scripted Series at Netflix. She’ll succeed Peter Friedlander – one of the company’s longest-serving creative executives – who will be leaving the streamer after almost 14 years. Howe joined Netflix in 2018, holding the title of VP, Original Series, Drama, helping develop series like Bridgerton, Inventing Anna, The Night Agent and The Diplomat.

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David Keighley, 77, on Aug. 28, after a battle with neuroendocrine prostate cancer. IMAX’s first-ever Chief Quality Officer, Toronto-born Keighley oversaw post-production on more than 500 IMAX films and was a trusted partner to filmmakers, including Christopher Nolan. He entered the giant screen industry in 1972, alongside his wife and business partner Patricia, founding large-format post-production company David Keighley Productions and going on to co-direct the IMAX film “Catch the Sun.” They formed a lasting partnership with IMAX, working on every one of the company’s releases thereafter. In 1988, DKP 70MM was acquired by IMAX, and the Keighleys joined its team, helping cement IMAX’s reputation for technical excellence. In 2015, IMAX’s premiere theatre at its L.A. offices was dedicated as the “David Keighley Theater” in a ceremony led by Nolan. Just three weeks ago, Keighley finished reviewing the dailies for Nolan’s The Odyssey, the first theatrical release ever shot entirely with IMAX film cameras. Keighley was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and  involved in its Science & Technology Awards Committee, in addition to membership in the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), a Life Fellow of SMPTE, and a recipient of its Herbert T. Kalmus Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Color Motion Pictures. He received the Giant Screen Theater Association’s inaugural Special Achievement in Film Award, and was later honoured alongside his wife with the organization’s Outstanding Achievement Award.

Jonathan Collicott, 52, on Aug. 27, at home in Keswick Ridge, NB. A graduate of St. Thomas University, Collicott had a three-decade career as an independent filmmaker, researching, writing, directing and editing across documentary, drama and corporate work, while also serving as Department Head of the film programs at the Centre for Arts & Technology and daVinci College in Fredericton. He joined CBC New Brunswick in 2018 as a videographer and editor, working on the local evening TV news program, and creating content for TV, web, and social media. He took on many video projects that he shot, produced and edited, including a longform feature where he trained alongside volunteer firefighters. Collicott also worked on many special live programs, including provincial election specials.

Monique Fortier, 97, on Aug. 18. Fortier’s career as an editor and filmmaker spanned more than 40 years at the NFB (National Film Board). Fortier was the first francophone woman to direct a film at the NFB, “The Hour of Independence,” in 1963. The following year, she directed “La beauté même,” starring Monique Miller, one of the first films made by a woman about women. She went on to devote herself to editing, becoming a key figure in the field in Quebec and Canada, working on NFB productions including Denys Arcand’s “The Decline of the American Empire (Le Déclin de l’empire américain),” for which she won a Genie Award for Best Editing in 1987. Fortier was the subject of a film portrait in 2014 for NFB’s Making Movie History series.

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