MONTREAL — After a remarkable 43 years in broadcasting, CHOM 97.7’s morning show host Terry DiMonte (above) is retiring.
The announcement was made during the Bell Media-owned radio station’s show in Montreal this morning. DiMonte’s final live broadcast will be Friday, May 28.
“Born in Verdun, Que. and raised on the West Island, DiMonte began his career in broadcasting in Churchill, Man. in 1978. After originally joining CHOM as the ‘Morning Man’ in 1984 for seven years, DiMonte moved over to MIX 96 and drove the station to ratings success in the ’90s, and then in 1998 took over from the legendary George Balcan at CJAD 800. After a brief stint back at CHOM, and following a four-year stay at Q107 in Calgary, DiMonte returned to CHOM to rock Montréalers’ mornings from behind the microphone for the last decade,” reads Bell Media’s press release.
“It’s a very difficult thing to walk away from something that has been so good to me and that I love so much,” said DiMonte, in the press release. “It was a very tough decision for me to make, but one I’ve been pondering for a couple of years, and it is time for a new chapter…one that doesn’t include getting up in the middle of the night!”
“One of the beautiful things born out of Terry’s broadcasting career is the relationships that he has made with thousands of people that he will never actually come into contact with,” said Mathew Wood, program director of CHOM 97.7. “He received one of the biggest compliments possible for a broadcaster when a listener wrote in, ‘You feel like a friend that I have never met.’ He is a gentleman and a true professional.”
Over the last 37 years, DiMonte has helped raise funds for numerous charities, including the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Montreal General Hospital Foundation, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the West Island, Sun Youth, and the Missing Children’s Network, among others, says the release.
To celebrate DiMonte’s career all month long, CHOM 97.7 is inviting listeners to share messages of their favourite memories via social media @CHOM977.
