2017 Update
Joanne Johnson (TSR '82), co-host of Don, Joanne & The Coach radio show on XL103
"After 35 years in the business, it's time to hang up the headphones. I've spent 33 years of my 35-year career in Calgary, and I'm very fortunate to have been able to do that. It's time for me to stay up past eight o'clock at night, meet friends for dinner on a weeknight and maybe even go to a concert! And it's definitely time to never, ever set an alarm for 3:15 in the morning.
I am looking at it as a new opportunity. Kids these days have two or three careers, so I am looking forward to the next chapter. It never seemed like it was a job, especially working with Don and the Coach. The boys and I will have been together for 25 years in December and that's the month we will do our last show. Stay tuned to XL103 for that goodbye.
I think a big part of who I am, and what I am about as a person, is the charity side of things. And I learned that back in the '80s at SAIT. The first charitable thing I did was the Shinerama, where we went out and shined shoes to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Canada. I have been involved with fundraising for cystic fibrosis for 20 years. And for the Kids Cancer Foundation, we (Don, Joanne & The Coach) are holding our 23rd annual charity golf tournament this August at the Cottonwood Golf and Country Club.
It's been one heck of a ride. Thank you Calgary!"
Veteran broadcaster Joanne Johnson has been waking up Calgarians for over 30 years, filling morning routines and commutes with her warm humour and sassy banter. It's a career that has netted Johnson numerous professional broadcasting awards, including Two Gold Ribbon Awards from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, shared with longtime co-hosts Don and "the Coach." Johnson has also utilized her profile as a broadcaster to wake up Calgarians to the issues that mean the most to her, promoting causes such as Kids Cancer Care and Hospice Calgary and working with the Salvation Army, Cystic Fibrosis, the Brain Tumour Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Society and the Miracle Home Lottery. Johnson has received the Generosity of Spirit award from the Calgary chapter of the Association for Fundraising Professionals and has been a staunch advocate of SAIT.