This article is part of the weekly "Helpers" feature, that focuses on people who contribute to our community.
Today's story is the first in a two-part feature that will focus on the morning radio announcers who work every day to greet their North Bay listeners with a smile.
MIKE MONAGHAN
Mike is a North Bayite who got an itch for broadcasting before he even really knew how to spell the word.
"When I was just a kid, I loved listening to the radio, and I loved listening to Bob Wood. I grew up wanting to be Bob Wood," says Monaghan, referring to the renowned 70s &and 80s morning show host.
For the past 14 years, Monaghan, 53, has been the morning host waking people up at the 106.3 frequency with Moose FM.
"I think I have a fear of missing out. I want to be part of everything, and help everything, and talk about everything that goes on in North Bay," says the veteran broadcaster.
"I like to entertain, I like to be the funny guy. But if you listen to my show, the audience is a part of it all. The listeners themselves are very much part of the entertainment," he says.
"If a listener has a sense of humour and says something really funny, I encourage them to call back another time."
He also enjoys getting out and seeing people face to face.
"It's a privilege to emcee an event. I've emceed everything from end of year hockey or volleyball to big black-tie fundraisers. I've emceed so many golf tournaments that I ensured we got our own mobile sound system because many courses didn't have the best audio, and I wanted to do it right" he says laughing.
Monaghan says it all boils down to community for him. "At the end of the day, all we have to offer is that local connection for those who need it or want it. I try to be 'excruciatingly local' for my listeners."
MITCH BELANGER
Mitch has been a staple of mornings for listeners to the rock format on 101.9 Rock for 20 years. he's half of the Mitch & Vicky team (Vicky is featured in an upcoming Helpers article)
He says what got him into broadcasting was simple. "For me it was music. I never thought about the talking, it was the music. When I was younger with my friends I was the music guy who would find an album or cassette and tell them they had to listen to it."
He says the technology has changed everything about the business. There was a time when he would have had to devote much of his shift pulling records or CDs, but now all music is on the computerized system, which allows more time to plan for content - or what the audience will hear him talk about on a given morning.
Belanger also enjoys the volunteering and speaking or emceeing that comes with the job. "I'm involved with Ride for Dad for prostate cancer. My partner Vicky and I do the Relay for Life, and the Hospital Walk Run."
One fundraiser holds a special place in his heart - the Walk to Cure Diabetes. "My (late) sister had diabetes so that one is very close for me," he adds.
Belanger, aged 53, says what he loves about his work is making a connection with people. "It's about the community, especially in a city like North Bay that's so close-knit. I like it when we can put smiles on people's faces. Life is tough and can be difficult. Being able to put that smile on their face in the morning means something," he says.
MATT SOOKRAM
Matt has been the morning host on Country 600 CKAT for almost two years now. He had held a variety of positions before settling into his current role waking up his audience five days a week.
He grew up in the Toronto area and followed his heart (and the lady who is now his wife) here in 2009.
"First I was a part-time weekend news anchor. Then I became a full-time city reporter (on the city council beat). I also got to do play by play for the Battalion. I was a local cable news reporter and show producer," he explains; before landing his position as a morning announcer.
"One of the reasons I was drawn to media is that I like telling stories. News is a story, sports is a story. But I'd never done the 'jock' side of things before. What I learned quickly as a morning jock was that it's still telling stories but with more humour, more opinion," he adds.
Sookraam sees his job as using " theatre of the mind" to paint a picture for listeners. He says that is both the artistic thing that he loves, but also the difficult side of entertaining people. "When a song ends you only have so many seconds to do it. The beauty lies in coming in for a minute or a minute and a half and engaging people in something they care about or might talk about later in the day,"
He says one of his biggest challenges is getting enough sleep, as he has to be up early, into the station by 4:30 or 5:00 am and on the air for 5:30 am. "As a parent of two two-and-a-half-year-old twins, that can be tough," he adds, but clearly he loves doing what he does, tired or not.
