Defining a successful career....Forbes style.

When your Father is a legend in the business - and your two brothers have a 3 and 6 year head start on you - you obviously have to be pretty inspired to 'be the best' at your craft and especially if you carry the Forbes name.

Double that if you HAVE your Fathers actual name and you think that the Jerry Forbes Centre for Community Spirit is named after 'you' - but they just spelled it wrong.

Brother Ger is hanging up his headphones at CJAY in Calgary shortly - after about four decades of success at some 'legendary' radio stations across Canada working with 'nothing but great people'.

Being a Morning Man is one of the toughest gigs in the world.

Insane hours.  Pressure to get up at an ungodly hour and entertain and inform your listeners - often at minus 30; or after a long night out;  and to make sure you are fully prepared (every day) with the craziness of the world factored in to your prep.

As well "serving the community" isn't a cliche to anybody in the Forbes Family.

Our Father started a great radio station and an even greater charity in the mid 1950's that are so powerful that this year, 37 years after he passed, a building is being named for him in Edmonton.

jerryforbescentre.ca

How's that for 'pressure to perform?'

Ger got it.  Early in life.  Growing up listening to 630 CHED and 1050 CHUM...with a goal to be as good as or better than some of the finest broadcasters "in the world."

It's a long list but he will tell you - among them - Wes Montgomery, Bob McCord, Jungle Jay Nelson, Norm Edwards, and to be humbled...'his brothers.'

There isn't enough room here to list Ger's accomplishments. 

The WAB |Hall of Fame; the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee for Community Service; and even in a fun way I believe he holds the record for the most CBSC 'complaints' ever for a broadcaster - which, when you're in rock radio, is truly a badge of honour if you're doing your show properly.

But above all - day one - and on his last day - I'm pretty sure that Gerry will tell you his absolute greatest accomplishment is what he did to pay his success forward with community service.

For some in the media that means the odd mc gig - or hosting an event.

For Gerry it means day after day giving his entire focus to helping out in the city that treats him so well.

If we could go back and count the actual CASH that has been raised through his charity work it truly would be immeasurable.

Big cheques to big projects - but even more meaningful little checks or little gestures to help somebody out.

I know of many many times when Ger quietly visited a home to help somebody out who was 'challenged' with a problem.

It could be a stolen bike.  It could be helping out a blind kid.  It could even mean helping out another employee of the radio station and Ger somehow magically made something good happen for those people.

I'm not going to dwell any further at this point - as I hope to write a tribute to him for one of his (likely) many retirement gatherings and I'll post that.

Ger, I've been proud of you from the very first day you headed out to CHNL Kamloops to start your career - and even though you had to steal the stations toilet paper to survive those first few years - your move to CHUM, CFTR, CHQR, CHFM, the The Bear and eventually CJAY - all help to define an amazing career at the biggest and best companies in Canada.

 I simply can't tell you how much I respect you.

The Forbes boys got their start by hanging around Dad's "Family" room - the fireplace going with real logs; a hefty glass of Cutty Sark scotch on the table; Dad's legendary aromatic pipe smell - and a few words of advice that the three of us have never ever forgotten....

"Don't ever forget the power you have in your hands with your radio station."

Worked for him.  Worked for us.

Thanks for making me laugh all those years too Ger.  We paid the price often for people who didn't understand our unique relationship working together - and many of those folks have fallen by the wayside with their careers - but I can safely tell people that even after 40 plus years in the business that you and I still text other daily - OFTEN - and ALWAYS about one thing.

Radio.

(OK there was the ODD time we may have crapped all over the other guys favorite sports team - but just the odd time eh)

We were so damn blessed by Dad and by being in a business that truly rewarded all three of us with wonderful careers, families, and 'true' friends.... and all three of us enjoyed success in entirely different areas of the business.  Not many other radio families that I know can say that!

We were also blessed by a Mother, and Step Father that were behind the three of us boys all the way too - never under estimate how much of a huge influence they were on your career - many many times we needed them to prop us up during those down times.

Now bro...sleep in...you deserve it!

Calgary's losing a gem.

Love ya!

Marty

Seeing the sunset...and remembering Family and Friends...

I have to admit.  I'm struggling lately - with 'death.'

Don't be shocked by that statement...it's just that I've lost several good friends over the past few years, most younger than me, and these are all people who have had a huge impact on my life.

As each friend passes away it's now taking me longer and longer to 'get over' the sadness of their loss.

Everybody, including experts, say this feeling is normal as we age but none the less it doesn't soften the loss in any manner.

First off I've lost my Father, late step Father, Mother, Aunts/Uncles and those close friends of my Parents that we called 'honourary' relatives.

My Dad's brother was 47 and left 7 kids when he died.  Dad's folks were just 61 and 62 when they passed away.

My Mother made it to 87 years old, and most of her side of the Family made it to their 90's.

I'm 67 and have outlived several of my elders in the Forbes clan.

Recently I decided to make a major change in my lifestyle that is reflective of the losses of my Friends and Family members by deciding to sell our Arizona condo, which we have held for the past decade.

As I explained to my friends - who I all adore down there - there are no guarantees in life and each of these losses have had a combined profound affect on my psyche that leaves me with an overriding desire to be around MY family and friends back home in Edmonton - Alberta - Canada.

My brothers are in Toronto - Calgary - and Vancouver.  I don't get there often enough to see them and, as time flies, know we MUST plan better to spend some time together...before....it's...too...late!

Yeah sitting in a blinding snowstorm - or chipping snow off my windshield certainly magnifies the effect of the move - but - each year over the past few years my Days in the USA have been falling significantly meaning I'm funding a place that is two thirds of the year 'empty' at an inflated cost due to the Canadian/US dollar exchange but more so when I see '100 days' as my track record I can't help but think I'm missing some pretty good family moments every year.

Birthdays away.  Anniversary away.  Those magic moments that only Grandchildren can provide - like watching 18 month old Liam mimic everything that Mom Rayanne does and receiving a video of him walking around nude in the living room with a kids size vacuum cleaner 'helping' Mom simply breaks my heart.

To help cheer you up your friends and Family - and I guess the experts - tell you to focus on the qualities and impact those people you lost had on you while they were still alive - and for that it works temporarily because the quality of people that I hang out with are all 'top notch' and I applaud what they did while they were here on earth - but the true story is I'd really like to spend more time with them and 'grow old' together - somehow celebrating the fact of what we did here on the planet while we were blessed with our lives here actually meant something.

Is there a heaven?  Are we going to hook up again?

When you hear your Fathers voice on the radio 37 years after he passed away.

When you drive through the Riverbend area and see the road signs named after him.

When you're part of a group that is opening a synergy centre called the Jerry Forbes Centre for Community Spirit.....

|It only reminds you of how sad it is that Dad missed seeing his three sons achievements in the broadcasting business.

Dad...we all did 'pretty good.'

|It reminds you of how sad it is that he didn't get to meet my daughters - and eventually his grandchildren.

Proud as punch and honoured at such recognition - but you know what - I'd love for him to have little Liam sitting on his lap - tugging at his Pipe - or grabbing at his ears just once in my life.

58 was way too young to leave us - but you can imagine the sheer pride I have watching 25,000 toys scoot out the door of Santas Anonymous every Christmas.

Nothing makes me prouder than seeing them help out at Santas  events - or selling 50/50 tickets at an Oilers game to raise funds for the cause.

The list of those lost is way too long to properly honour those friends of mine who have passed away over the past decade especially.

I have been so blessed to have been able to enjoy almost ten years of retirement allready with the lifestyle that I enjoy.  A nice car - motorcycles - place in the Sun - travelling to some of the most exotic countries of the world.

Some good gigs too.

I don't take a day for granted any more - and my entire focus for the past ten years while I have time on my hands is to "tangibly" give back to the City of Edmonton.

That's why I work so hard at the projects that I get involved in - and they too are numerous - and the people inside those organizations are the reason I work my butt off because each and every one of those people enrich my life, greatly.

So as I write my Edmonton Sun goodbye column about Tommy Banks this morning I'm just feeling a little sorry - not for myself - but for those great people I was so blessed to call friends over my six plus decades on this crazy planet for not being around anymore.

I miss each and every one of you and thank you for the pleasure of knowing you in my lifetime.

|I'm a product of the amazing people I call friends - and Family - and I just wish that they'd gotten to enjoy the 'sunset' a little more like I'm planning to do.

I'm hoping for a fire alarm to be pulled on my 100th birthday as the candles set it off in my home.

Bless every one of you for whatever small moments we spend together - and I hope you realize how much each of those moments mean to a guy who is ageing and missing his best friends and family members.