Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:04 Good morning for McMurry. Thank you very much for tuning in. I am your host Elliot Pierre. And what you're watching is the Mac city morning show. I'm going to start the show off the same way I always do by saying thank you. Thank you so much for tuning in. There's so many other things you could be doing with your time. So the fact that you're either watching this live or the recorded one later, it warms my heart. And I want to say, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. But on that note, Tanner,
Speaker 1 00:00:32 Welcome to the max anymore in jail.
Speaker 0 00:00:41 All right. So I've got to say I'm loving the intro every week. I think they're so fun. I know they change up Tanner. You're killing it with the intro, man. So today, as per usual, I'm not going to introduce my guests because they do a better job than myself at it. So without further ado, sir, tell everybody who you are, what you're about, and let's get,
Speaker 2 00:00:59 I'll be honest with you, man. This is the part that I've been dreading about this interview is actually doing this piece. So how would I just say I'm Jerry novel? Um, and I have a small business here in Fort McMurray. I'm also a municipal employee. Um, but most people in town would probably remember me from country 93, three or as the announcer for the oil barons. Uh, their in-house announcer.
Speaker 0 00:01:23 There we go. Yeah, you are a very busy man. And I'm assuming, just hearing your voice, anybody who goes to any sporting event is going to remember your voice.
Speaker 2 00:01:32 It's so cool. I've, I've been lucky, Elliot. Like my, if my dad was alive, my dad died before I had a chance to come to Fort McMurray. And it's kind of like my second chance up here. If my dad could see what I've been able to do to help sports in this community and to be able to see how I've helped promote it. Um, just the stuff that we've given to sport. Like we do a lot of stuff with minor hockey as well. Um, I, yeah, I know you see me at the oil barons games in here. Me, you used to see me and hear me at the piano games, but every once in a while we jump in, we're at the Franklin qua and we're doing minor hockey and it's, it's really cool because the kids really appreciate that because they aren't expecting it was so funny.
Speaker 2 00:02:15 I'll this year alone Bouschet has just sponsored all of the junior oil barons. And so I put together a couple of these intros for the junior Alberon steams. They didn't tell them, so they just hit it. Boom. So it was this big sound explosion when they come on and here's number 22 Timmy Smith, and it just keeps going on and the kids are looking at it. I'm like, Oh my God, what's going on? And it was so funny. I did this girl's game and they're all announcing and the girls are skating around. And when it got to this girl, she raised her stick in the air. It was like, yes, that's me. I've been waiting for my name. That is me. And it was so cool. That's awesome. It's just to me, it's more rewarding to do the, uh, the minor sports to do the bigger sports, but to be able to do the minor, you need to do the bigger sports to be able to find it. Yeah,
Speaker 0 00:03:01 That's it. So you have been here for a few years, but uh, what brought you to Fort McMurray? Initially? You've been here for nine years now. Right?
Speaker 2 00:03:08 Nice. It's going to be, this is, uh, June, June 12th or June 20th. It's right around my birthday. I know that, but my there's my, my anniversary, my birthday and my wife's birthday, all bang, bang, bang. So I don't get to forget them, but my arrival from Fort McMurray hits somewhere in there. Um, and, uh, anyone that was here nine to 10 years ago would remember it because they had Franklin Avenue shut down, right. For Mac Island. It seemed all the way to Kiana. Cause they're putting in new pipes and stuff. That's when I showed up. So that was my welcome to Fort McMurray. How do you get to the radio station? I don't know, fly in and it was rather neat, but that's, that's what it was. And I also say the summer of the kiss concert, because everybody remembers when kiss was here for that big concert.
Speaker 0 00:03:54 So when you came here, like you have talked about, you first were working at the radio station and that's how we actually met. You were doing a miracle marathon for is anonymous. So you were at one of the groceries putting in the full weekend, probably back then promoting the miracle marathon. San is anonymous. So yeah, you were very involved and still are involved in that organization. Tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker 2 00:04:18 Well, Santas is probably one of the coolest organizations I've ever been involved in and there's from life and radio where you're involved in everything. Like you're doing the food bank, you're doing the SPCA, you're doing, Sandra's anonymous, you're doing, uh, choices. You're doing the way points. You're doing everybody. So when I got out of radio, I really had to decide where I'm going to put time and effort and to do that sort of thing because no, one's paying me now to go to these places. So Sandra's anonymous really hit me because it's done by the kids, for the kids and hos this is going to be the hardest one Elliot to do. Oh my God. I that's the one thing my wife will tell you about me. I'm like the most sentimental dude in the world. You're working with me on a video shoot. It's like, tilt your camera up, tilt your camera down.
Speaker 2 00:05:04 Let's go. And I'm very direct. And then I cry at commercials and all that stuff. And I'll never forget, I'm talking to this kid because I brought the kids on the co-host with me. So like, they're like, Oh, the kids will help you do stuff. And dah, dah, I'm like, no, the kids are going to be on the radio with me because they're the ones that are doing it. Oh. So I asked this kid, I'm like, why are you doing this? He's like, because I got a basket one year and went on to talk about how his family's Christmas was made from Santa as anonymous. And it was like, Oh, tugging at the heartstrings. So I couldn't not help them out. So ever since I've been out of radio, um, we've been doing, uh, through the municipality, a toy and food drive for Sanders anonymous.
Speaker 2 00:05:52 And even through COVID this year, we did it, didn't have the students to help. So we had to hump all the stuff ourselves. So it really was a lot of work. We usually have like 12 students on the bus with us and we couldn't. Um, but we still load it up two full buses with toys and it's just so good to see that program. And then they lost the Teddy bear toss this year for Santa is anonymous. So my wife, Jennifer, and myself, decided to do calls, zoom calls for Santa. So we happened to know. And so we, uh, we, we did those calls and I think we raised somewhere around 16 or 1700 bucks per Santas for that. So it, it was still a success. So, but that's an organization that I promise you again, next year, sign me up. I'm going to be doing something for sure.
Speaker 0 00:06:36 Yeah. They they're amazing. I know I was involved with SANAS from high school cause I went to father merch and then obviously for obvious reasons, very involved after the fact as well, voluntold. Um, but yeah, what they do is incredible and yeah. Try to get through a Christmas season without crying while working for that event. I know the one thing that I, I just don't have the stomach for anymore because I can't, I can't make it through without balling is like the hamper drop-offs I'm over, I'm over it.
Speaker 2 00:07:03 See, I've never done the hamper drop-offs and there's the number one reason that I don't is, um, people in Fort MC Marine know who I am and it's different when people know who you are and you knock on the door and you're like, Oh, hi Bob. And you give Bob, cause you didn't know Bob was in that situation and stuff. And I'm sure that it's happened to other people, but it's just, it's different when you're in the spotlight in town and people can, everybody thinks that they know you, which is great, man. What a great feeling like wherever I go, someone goes, Oh, I know who you are. You know what I mean? So it's nice like that. Um, but it makes it hard to do those kinds of things. Yeah. Right. So, but I would rather be in that spotlight and have that spotlight on me to help the community move forward, then not have that spotlight on me. So yeah.
Speaker 0 00:07:58 So now let's talk about why the community knows you so well in regards. So I want to talk about your company a little bit because you do a lot of work around town. So let the people at home know like what your company is about, what kind of work you've been doing. They probably seen and heard you obviously, but let's, let's learn a little bit about your organization.
Speaker 2 00:08:14 Well, the Neville video productions is the organization and we pride ourselves on basically being kids. First jobs. We don't chintz out on paying the kids. When they come to work for us, we just get kids. So they have a chance to not just, excuse me, have their first job, learn the responsibilities of a job, learn how to handle a job because there's so many kids that go out and they just go, okay, I'm just going to get a job. But for us, I tell them, I'm booking you in for seven o'clock. That means if you need to use the bathroom, you need to go to the canteen. You need to talk to your friends. You need to have a smoke. You need to do anything else. That's all pre seven. O'clock at seven o'clock. I want you on a camera. I want you in a meeting.
Speaker 2 00:08:58 I want you, and now your mind. So if it takes you that 20 right minutes to get ready to take your jacket off, to get ready, then you show up early, right? So we teach them that responsibility, but we also give them the rewards too, that go along with that. If a client comes up to us and says, Hey, the great job, here's a little extra. We take the kids to stop her. Or we do something for the kids. We don't pocket that kind of money, that sort of thing. So we treat our kids really, really well, but we like to do local events, which is, we started out with the oil barons. Um, and we had that. We expanded into Kiano. We went into do the giants. Um, and, uh, we did, uh, last, I guess it would be two years ago now because I keep saying last season, um, with the monarchs, we ended up picking up four or five games from them, um, to do that as well.
Speaker 2 00:09:51 But it's, there's a lot that goes along with that. Like we have to keep up with the latest trends in music I got to watch. So when you're watching hockey night in Canada and they're doing, what's called glitch editing where they're like, could you do Duke? And these little fancy thing, I had to learn how to do that. Right? Cause I do sports and they expect that in sports. So it's those kinds of things. Um, but more often than anything is what we did this year is what we're most proud of. So during COVID we got approached, we actually approached the food festival. So the food festival listed off everything that they wanted to do. And I went, there is no way that they're going to be able to pull this off virtually and have the money for this. So I went through and I organized all their events and I put together a proposal for them.
Speaker 2 00:10:36 And I called a, I'll never forget Jason over. And I'm like, look, if you guys are going to pull this off, you need to do this. It's going to cost this much to do it. I'm going to donate three quarters of that. And I just want this little piece down here and put my name on stuff. That's all I want to be able to do. As it turned out, we donated too much. So we had, we had to actually pull some of that back because he still has to pay tax on that because it's a donation. Um, so, or whatever, some kind of accounting thing, I don't, I'm not good with money. Um, so we actually worked with the food festival and we streamed, uh, their food festival live. We had a DJ, uh, Cupid spinning and stuff like that was great. We were going live to people's houses through zoom.
Speaker 2 00:11:19 Um, we also had a chance to work with the hospital foundation on festival of trees. Uh, one of the most stressful by far our productions I've ever done three minutes before we go live, the internet went out and all my God, I was panicking and things. I didn't think we were going to go on. We ended up being three minutes late on the other side, but Oh my God, we had a guy there from try it on as well. And we just like, everybody's trying to do everything. Um, but that turned out to be the biggest grossing event that we've ever done over $250,000 raised almost $300,000 raised for the hospital foundation. That was incredible. We got to do the school, uh, awards for their thank you to the businesses for the public school district, but probably the biggest, most stressful, but incredible and learning biggest learning opportunity I've ever had is the art awards this year.
Speaker 2 00:12:14 Anyone that saw the art awards, um, I've, I've now produced them three years in a row. I liked the first one we did the second one. Not so much, but this, Oh my goodness. Holy cow. If you, when they came to us and said what we wanted to do, I think I was a little over ambitious. The set for the art awards was the entire, uh, space, uh, for, Oh, the school up by Kentucky fried chicken in the RCMP, right? Yeah. Yeah. We're the Suncor per center for performing arts. What all the Holy Trinity was the entire width of that, that ship was the entire width. There was barely enough room for us to get around and put cameras in the back, barely enough room for us to get around and put cameras on the other on the front. And it was insane. I I've never shot anything on that scale. We had a special effects. There were foggers special lights. I've never shot the theater before. Right. And it was Ugh, but so proud. So proud of that to see that. And uh, this is the first year I actually have to bid for them. So I'm actually going to go ahead.
Speaker 0 00:13:23 I know. I'm pretty sure your, your bid will be definitely favored. I think I might have a leg up for that one. So, so Jerry we're at the part of the show where a Tanner, the man behind the scenes asks some questions. We call it the Mac CD minute. So we're going to put you on the spot. Tanner has five quick little questions for you. Tanner hit him with the questions.
Speaker 3 00:13:45 Question. Number one, working in radio for so long. How has it shown you for me, Marie?
Speaker 2 00:13:50 Uh, I remember that voice came from, um, working in radio at what is working in radio. Show me at Fort McMurray. That Fort McMurray is by far the most giving community in the world. Um, I love Fort McMurray and the fact that, uh, when something happens, the community just gathers around and fixes it. It's not a matter of, okay, well, let's go get a go fund me or get a thing. It's like, Oh, Billy is doing a fundraiser here, Billy. Here's the way to go. Um, and the best way to do that. And you could show millions of examples here in Fort McMurray, but I'll show you the most simple example. My very first, uh, radio promotion ever. I got in the van. The first weekend I was here, drove to home hardware. They were having a hot dog sale. Now in Nova Scotia, you pull up to a hot dog sale.
Speaker 2 00:14:33 They've had to provide their own barbecue, their own propane, their own buns, their own hotdogs, their own ketchup, their own pop, and the place just provides a spot for them to go and sell it. I have never seen it where they walk in and show up. And the propane is supplied. The barbecue supplied, the hotdogs supplied, the condiments are supplied. The Papa's supplied. And all you have to do is sell them to make that happen. So I'm like, okay, that's different. And then as people are walking in, they're like, Hey, you want a hot dog? No hit you on the way out. And in Nova Scotia knees, that's sorry. I don't have any money. Those same people were coming out and dropping a $50 bill into the canister. Sir. Do you want a hot dog? Nope. That's okay. Receipt. Nope. That's okay. And they walk away and you go, what's my first year in Fort McMurray, we raised $10 million. I had a finger in $10 million. Incredible. But that's what radio showed me. Fort McMurray.
Speaker 3 00:15:29 All right. Question number two. What is your favorite event you've gone to over the years and for being married? Oh, that is so hard.
Speaker 2 00:15:38 So hard. So as a guy who keeps saying, uh, if you say there's nothing to do in Fort McMurray, follow me for a week and if you're not exhausted, I'll be very, very surprised. So I've been to lots and lots of events, national baseball, the, my very first announcing gig at the then Kasmin center. Now center fireplace, the red and white game from the Canadian junior team with Brian Nugent Hopkins playing on it. Like that was incredible. Seeing kisses close as I saw them, uh, being able to be with helix, uh, who sang our wedding song, heavy metal love. That's what my wife walked down the aisle to, um, to working with Tiffany, working with men without hats, uh, doing all these nitro circus. Oh my God. I that's. One of the things I wanted to mention was nitro circus. The biggest production I ever worked for in my life.
Speaker 2 00:16:38 There's pictures of it. Like my buddies down there, I'm like take as many pictures of music can and I'm on this huge camera working with, uh, Pasternak and all the boys from nitro circus. And I'm just like insane. The people that I'm working with, the guy beside me does the NHL cam, uh, center ice cam for the Nashville predators. Another guy that's producing. It just came off tour with Tina Turner. Like it was all this stuff. It was like, what? So I, I don't want to say any events. There's so many events. Like the first year we were here, the MMA was going on big and rich. There was, uh, Dirks, Bentley, Reba McEntire, George Canyon, all that thing. Kiss my goodness. There's so much going on here.
Speaker 3 00:17:19 Question number three for you. You today, what is your favorite piece of equipment you use? Uh,
Speaker 2 00:17:25 Okay, so this is, I own a video production company, so I have some expensive toys. That's the way I like to call them. I like to call them toys. Uh, on my Facebook page, I posted a picture of what I was doing today of me recording a video with my toys. Um, but my new favorite toy is I have, what's called a DGI gimbal and I put my new Panasonic GH five on that and I can run and everything is smooth as silk. I can, it's got an extender stick. I can push it through holes and it looks like drones are flying through things. And Oh, and I know that you're always looking for product endorsements, DGI, Ronan, S two is what you want. Don't get the, don't get the road and get the <inaudible>. You need the S two. I've got it upstairs. It's amazing. It's it's feature is incredible. Just that I'm waiting to do a lecture with somebody hitting follow and just have them in front of me. Like just incredible yet. They're gimbals in their drones, like ahead of the game. I had a drone, but when the drone room rules changed, I'm like, ah, I'm not getting into that. That's a whole different show topic.
Speaker 3 00:18:42 Yeah. Question number four. Who is the most interesting person you've met working in the Mac?
Speaker 2 00:18:50 Oh, this could be a lot of people got to pick one being backstage with one more girl and their father. That was huge meeting Tiffany being, listening to big John McCarthy from the MMA. And everybody knows who that is. Talk to MMA fighters about MMA, like an MMA fighter. That's up there trying to think this person I met, I think is by chance. And this is a cool story. I'm standing in line at the Kiano gala for beer or for a coat check or something. I can't remember what it's for. It's one of my first ones. And all you hear is, excuse me, excuse me, coming through. Excuse me. And I look up and it's Marty McSorley and I'm just like, I'll get out of your way, Mr. McSorley. I'm so sorry. I'm in your way. And he's like, no, no, I have a phone. I'm like, thank you, Mr. McSorley. Thank you. It's like just, don't take a swing at me. It's like that. You never know who you're going to meet in the Mac. Like you never know. I've played, uh, uh, golf with NHL champions with Stanley cup rings and I've done all kinds of stuff here, man. It's it's incredible. Who comes here? Do you know the bubble's dad from the trailer park boys? I don't know if he still works here. Used to work here. So Mike used to come up here all the time. I do know that. Yep. Very cool. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:20:09 Our last question for you today, what is the best sports moment you can remember from Fort McMurray?
Speaker 2 00:20:16 Oh my best sport moment from Fort McMurray over and above everything else. I I'm going to go back all the way to 2011. When I first got here and it's going to be, uh, announcing the red and white game for team Canada. I'll never forget it. I walked into the den Kasmin center and I went down to the penalty box and the person from hockey, Canada handed me a binder and I'm like, Oh my God, the nods. It's like, I'll never get all these announcements. And they won't play a song like Holy smokes. So I'm going that as I'm going over that the off ice crew from the Kasmin center shows up and they go, Oh, you're the new announcer? And I'm like, yeah, I'm really excited. I just got here to town. It's all good. We'll get better. Be good because we liked the last guy.
Speaker 2 00:20:59 So the pressure was on right from the start and Steve Niehaus who owns stacks. And he's now going to the Legion as well, uh, to do the restaurant there. Um, we were talking about this last week and he goes, man, I'll never forget when I'm there at the, at the game. And all of a sudden your voice came on. The PA, he went, Oh my God, hockey, Canada even brought their own announcer with them. Like, Holy, this is insane. But the best part of that game was after the game was over. Nobody was walking out on the ice to take pictures. So I was at the penalty box. I just, boom lifted the penalty box store, walked out on the ice and I'm like new John Hopkins, new John Hopkins. And he turned around, took the picture. Thanks, man. Just locked off the ice. No one said anything to me. It's on my Facebook page. You want to see a picture of night, Ryan Mnuchin Hopkins in Fort McMurray, Snoop Dogg, wagon, wheel burns Jersey too. That would be one of the greatest moments that has been your five
Speaker 1 00:21:51 Questions, man. Who is that dude,
Speaker 2 00:21:53 Man, like, and where is he?
Speaker 0 00:21:55 Good-looking gentlemen. He's never on stage, but you know, he's like the wizard of Oz. He's controlling all the strings behind the scenes. The puppet master is what he prefers. There you go. There you go. Yeah. Well, Jerry, thanks for coming, man. I know this will be, this is your first visit, but I know you'll be back again. Oh, I'm definitely coming back. Thanks for all the things you do in the community. Like you definitely are one of the biggest advocates I know in this community. So thanks for all the work you do. Thanks for all the people you support. You're the man. And thank you very much for coming on the maxi morning show.
Speaker 2 00:22:26 This morning show is replacing a hole that has been created in the media here. And I can't wait for you to fill that. And for people to find this, that haven't found it yet. Um, there are, there, there is a really good morning show here on mixed one Oh three seven with Mike Booth. But I gotta tell ya if I could listen to this on the radio, I would listen to this.
Speaker 0 00:22:51 Thank you for the kind words, man. Appreciate it, everybody watching at home once again. Thank you very much. I'm Elliot Pierre. This is a Mac city morning show. Have a great day.
Speaker 1 00:23:01 He just died another max, any warning show.
