by Ed Bain, CHEK, 100.3 The Q! –
Ed Bain is host of radio station 100.3 The Q! and weatherman and The Upside host for CHEK.
His career in broadcasting began in Weyburn Saskatchewan in 1974; after moving to Vancouver Island, in 1987 he played “Start Me Up” as the very first song on new Victoria radio station The Q.
He and his wife Bev (whom he calls a saint!) are parents to son Carson.
“Gee Ed, I thought you’d have a nicer house,” a guy said to me when my wife Bev and I and a few friends were hosting a garage sale at my home for the United Way one year.
“Do I tell this guy he’s being rude?” I wondered, but of course I couldn’t do that because it would come back to bite me for sure. I can hear it now: “Ed Bain told me I was rude!” So instead I opted for humour and told him that yes, I was trapped in this stucco box for a few months while my place in Uplands was being painted.
Let me start by saying that I’m very lucky and appreciative of the fact that I have a little profile in Greater Victoria and the Island and I do not take that for granted. Hosting the morning show on The Q! for over 34 years and doing weather and The Upside on CHEK for over 20 has been a privilege that I’m very fortunate to have, so I’m careful not to mess that up by saying or doing, or being perceived as doing or saying, the wrong thing in public.
I’ve always felt that if people are good enough to listen to you or watch you on television, you have a duty to be the best person publicly that you can. It’s because of this that I spend a great deal of free time helping with various charities and fundraisers every year. I’ve always been one to try to help people when I can (it might be my Prairie upbringing … you don’t walk past someone that’s stuck in a snow drift: you grab a shovel and then dig them out).
I’m proud to be associated with the great volunteers of our Island that are working non-stop to help make life better for so many. Organizations like Golf for Kids,The Tour De Rock, Operation Trackshoes, The Crohns and Colitis
Foundation and so many more have been at the top of the list of causes I support every year.
With celebrity comes great responsibility, and that’s one reason I do my best to try to be a decent person. Even if I sometimes get frustrated in traffic, overcharged at the garage or hear an opinion I don’t agree with, I just smile and go back inside my crappy house.
In a small community, running a business can be something like being a local celebrity. You are aware that the public watches what you do, and that online reviews (that can be make or break) are a new and powerful tool in their hands! Congratulations to all the entrepreneurs and professionals who have stepped up to the plate during this very difficult year. Your contributions to the business community help make the Saanich Peninsula the special place that it is.
Photo by Janis Jean Photography.
