Global Calgary’s veteran news anchor Gord Gillies has been honoured by RTDNA Canada with a lifetime achievement award.
Gillies, who has worked at Global Calgary for 25 years, will take home the Prairie Region Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s awards ceremony in Calgary on April 29.
“From the bottom of my heart, I am absolutely thrilled. I have been blessed to work with many, many great people who have guided me along the way,” Gillies said.
“This has been the most wonderful journey – meeting people, sharing stories, watching our world – and it has been so neat to have such a cool seat to take it all in.”
“It’s impossible to think of Calgary without thinking of Gord Gillies,” Global Calgary news director and station manager Chris Bassett said. “He is a tireless supporter of this community and refuses to accept even the smallest amount of credit for his work with organizations across our city. I can’t imagine a more deserving recipient of this award.”
Gillies began his broadcasting career as a copy boy at the Toronto Star in 1981 after graduating from the Radio and Broadcasting Arts program at Humber College in Toronto, Ont.
He says covering the 1988 Olympic Winter Games and the devastating floods in southern Alberta in 2013 are two of the biggest highlights of his career.
“Gord is someone I look forward to seeing at work every single day,” co-anchor Linda Olsen said. “With his professionalism and enthusiasm for his work, he inspires everyone around him. Mostly, he is one of the funniest most self-deprecating people I know who can always make me smile.“
A supporter of many charitable initiatives, Gillies volunteers with the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Salvation Army, Hull Child and Family Services.
RTDNA Canada created the lifetime achievement award in 2002 to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service and continued excellence during the course of their career in broadcast journalism.
On top of Gillies’ lifetime achievement award, Global Calgary was nominated for 11 RTDNA awards this year.
Click through the gallery below for some photos featuring Gord Gillies over the years: