Our own Dennis Walker was recognized as the 2021 Citizen of the Year by the Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber president Christine Hoechsmann said Walker’s award was given to him because of his work promoting local events, organizations and businesses.
“I genuinely think he’s the voice of Cranbrook. Everybody recognizes his voice in the mornings. He’s at all the community events, not only for the radio station, but on his own time because it’s so special to him,” said Hoechsmann. “I think he’s just become such an important part of this community that Citizen of the Year is so appropriate.”
Walker has been with 2dayFM for six years: since we first hit the air on September 11, 2015 as Summit 107.
His morning show highlights local businesses, charities and events through interviews. He also incorporates listener contributions into the show, through community road reports.
“I thought, if I’m going to get into a community, I have to get out there and meet people and I just kept doing it,” said Walker. “My first boss in radio told me to get to events if I could, instead of just calling and I’ve always done it that way. The city is small enough that, on a bike, I can get to all the places I want to.”
Walker got his start in radio in the early 80s in Creston before moving to Penticton and eventually ending up in Cranbrook.
“I was doing play-by-play, volunteering for the KIJHL and the then Creston Clippers, they’re now the Thunder Cats. In Grade 9 we would just go down there and we would only do the third period of the game,” explained Walker. “You never knew how the sound was going to be. They would just roll it and you would play it back and it was on a VCR. They were using it as a learning tool at first and then they would play it on community TV.”
Walker hosts the morning show on 107.5 2day FM, and can be heard live on the air from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
