After 37 years at CJOH (CTVOttawa), this won't be Max Keeping's best memory, but the man that changed many lives in Ottawa, sure changed mine. (2006, Max reports Stu leaves the Bear for Team 1200)
This Friday, Max passes the torch to veteran journalist Graham Richardson who joins Carol Anne Meehan. Now while Max leaves the desk, he'll stay on as a community ambassador for CTV, which is great news for the countless charities he supports.
Everyone has a Max Keeping story.
Those that worked closely with him at CJOH will have better ones to tell than mine, but if it wasn't for Max, I likely would have never had the chance to live out one of my dreams. Growing up I watched the news every night and always wanted to work in radio and TV. When I was on Merivale road at The Bear, we would often have Max on our show promoting his annual bowl-a-thon or anything CHEO related. One morning I asked if I could ever come in and work in TV. A few years later after numerous telethon appearances, I got my chance to work at CJOH as a fill in weather host. I knew Max was involved in that decision and was grateful. As I learned the ropes of what it's like in a newsroom environment, a compliment from Max at the end of a newscast meant the world to me, even though I knew it may not have been my best performance.
While he won't be apart of our supper time ritual anymore, he will always be apart of the way stories were told to a generation.
Max....Thank you,
