Career Broadcaster, Conservative Campaigner and raconteur par excellence, Don Hamilton has died

Donald M. E. Hamilton, March 13, 1932 ‐ December 2, 2012

OTTAWA, Dec. 12, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Career Broadcaster, Conservative Campaigner and raconteur par excellence, Don Hamilton passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 2, in Victoria, BC, with family by his side.

Don completed the Radio and Television Arts program at Ryerson Polytechnic. Following early posts as a radio announcer at CFCH in North Bay and CJKL in Kirkland Lake, Don's industriousness and brash and exuberant personality marked him for a rapid rise to the upper ranks of Canada's broadcast industry.

The path included eight years at CKOY Radio in Ottawa, where he rose to Director of Advertising and Sales. He married Pat Kenny, producer and congenial voice behind the station's flagship morning show, Jay and Ginger. Next stop was London, where Don excelled as General Manager of radio station CKSL. In 1961, Don was recruited by the Moffat Broadcasting group to its fledgling station in Vancouver, CKLG. For two decades Don developed and led CKLG and its sister station, CFOX FM, to unprecedented success in Vancouver's competitive rock music market.

Don's business and media acumen in broadcasting were equalled by a lifelong engagement in community and national affairs. For several years, he was Canadian delegate to the Uruguay‐based Inter‐American Broadcasters' Association. He served multiple terms as vice‐president of the Progressive Conservative Party's national executive and as BC Campaign Chair for Robert Stanfield in 1972, Joe Clark in 1979, and Brian Mulroney in 1988. He was instrumental in the formation of radio newscaster Broadcast News, a subsidiary of Canadian Press.

In the late 1970s, Don left CKLG and formed, General Communications, which led to exciting positions with BC's Open Learning Agency, Knowledge Network, the Vancouver Centennial Commission, Expo 86, the 1994 Commonwealth Games, Lotto Canada, numerous corporate boards, and the launch of his own station, AM‐1040, which he later sold. From 1989 to 1995, he served on the CBC Board of Directors.

Above all, Don will be remembered as an affable, kind, and proud Canadian, bursting with creative energy, who loved to share his experience in stories, speeches and memoirs. He endured tragedy with the loss of his beloved wife, Pat, in 1983 and son Jeff in 1987. A second marriage to Moneca Litton ended amicably after fourteen years. Don is survived by his sister Susanne (Guy Bauer) of Guelph, daughter Leslie (John Meredith) of Victoria, son Russell (Carolyn Sevos) of New York, grandchildren Marlon, Colin, Corey, and Ashley, and great‐grandchildren Alice and Theodore.

A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, January 19, 2013, in Vancouver. For details, contact the family at [email protected]. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer Society of BC.

SOURCE: OROMEDIA

Daughter: Leslie Kenny, Victoria, BC, 250-418-8722, [email protected]
Son: Russell Hamilton, New York, NY, [email protected]

Source: Charles Pitts, Oromedia - 877 990 9044, [email protected]
This link to download a photo of Don Hamilton: http://www.oromedia.com/images/Don.jpeg