1956

1956 CFAM Tower

CFAM Tower

It all started with an idea for a radio station that would provide local service in all aspects of community life: news, sports, weather, farm and business information, and inspirational programming – and Southern Manitoba Broadcasting Co. Ltd. was incorporated.

1957

1957 CFAM Opening

CFAM Opening

A small studio and transmitter site was constructed in Altona and on March 13th at precisely 8:01AM, the switch was flipped and CFAM went live on the air, broadcasting at 1,000 watts. Known as “Your Farm and Good Music Station”, it launched with just eleven employees – one of whom was Elmer Hildebrand, who would become CEO of the company.

1958

1958

CFAM Staff, left to right:
Ben Horch (Music Director), Len Enns (Farm Director), Larry Johnstone (Sports Editor), Bill Jordan (News Editor), Dennis Barkman

Because the staff had little or no experience operating a radio station, its early days were somewhat chaotic. Though there were many skeptics, CFAM’s audience continued to grow, and an application was made to boost CFAM’s power to 5,000 watts.

1959

1959

CFAM

At first, CFAM signed on at 6:00 every morning and signed off at midnight. All night broadcasting began on November 2, 1959, with the introduction of “Classics till Dawn”. This was also the year that CFAM opened a sales office in Steinbach, with one employee.

1960

1960

Dennis Barkman at CFAM Studio

With an ever-growing audience, another power increase was granted to CFAM, which now operated at 10,000 watts. Soon Elmer Hildebrand, who had started with the company as copywriter, found there were not enough advertisers on the air to keep him busy, so he began selling. This was when the station’s revenue finally started to grow. By the summer of 1960, he was appointed Sales Manager of CFAM.

1964

1964

CHSM Grand Opening

CFAM had a strong loyal following growing in Southeastern Manitoba, but many found the signal lacking. And so, an application was made to establish a new radio station in Steinbach: CHSM.

1965

1965

CFAM – CHSM Staff, March 1964

Elmer Hildebrand was promoted to General Manager, ushering the company into a new era of community service radio.

1973

The company had received many letters from Southwestern Manitoba requesting a local radio station, so CJRB was launched in Boissevain. This was also the year a new two-storey radio station was built in downtown Steinbach.

1974

With the purchase of radio stations in Saskatchewan (CKSW Swift Current and CJSN Shaunavon), the name Southern Manitoba Broadcasting was no longer appropriate, so it was changed to Golden West Broadcasting Ltd.

1977

1977

CHRB

With the acquisition of CHRB in High River, Golden West reached into Alberta.

1978

The first of many awards to come, Golden West was named Broadcaster of the Year by the Western Association of Broadcasters.

1987

Though CFAM already served this region, Golden West was able to acquire CISV in Winkler-Morden, rebranding the station as CKMW.

1992

Continuing to grow in small markets across the Canadian Prairies, Golden West purchased CHAB in Moose Jaw.

1994

Golden West made the pivotal decision to have news staff invest their time into exclusively local news coverage. This same year, the Western Association of Broadcasters named Golden West Broadcaster of the Decade.

1995

Reaching deeper into Saskatchewan, Golden West acquired radio stations in Estevan (CJSL) and Weyburn (CFSL).

1997

Golden West purchased its first FM station in Swift Current: CIMG. This same year, Elmer Hildebrand was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame.

1998

1998

Marcy Markusa, Jim Jackson

Golden West added our first FM station to our Steinbach broadcast location: CILT.

1999

1999

CFAM New Studio: Micheal McCabe CAB President, Elmer Hildebrand, Liuetenant Governor Peter Liba, June 24th, 1999

Head office in Altona had grown out of its original building, so the company leased an entire floor in Golden West Plaza (a new commercial and residential complex) in the heart of the community. Its grand opening was well attended by provincial dignitaries.

2000

The company added radio stations in Rosetown (CJYM), Kindersley (CFYM), Winkler/Morden (CJEL), and Portage la Prairie (CFRY) to the roster.

2000

2000

SteinbachOnline.com

Starting in fall of 2000, Golden West began expanding its coverage to include digital media, launching community portals SteinbachOnline.com and CHVNRadio.com. Through 2001 its digital media portfolio grew, with PortageOnline.com, SwiftCurrentOnline.com, and PembinaValleyOnline.com.

2001

To complement the AM station (CJSL) already serving Estevan, an FM station was launched: CHSN.

2002

CILG-FM was launched in Moose Jaw, joining its sister station CHAB-AM.

2003

2003

DiscoverMooseJaw.com

CKUV-FM went on the air in High River, with studios located in both High River and Okotoks. Over in Saskatchewan, Golden West launched DiscoverMooseJaw.com.

2004

CHVN, a Christian Contemporary music station in Winnipeg, was acquired by Golden West. CJPG launched in Portage, joining CFRY in serving the Central Plains region of Manitoba.

2005

2005

New Steinbach Studio

Having outgrown its Main Street location, the Steinbach office moved to a larger building at the corner of Main and Brandt. This same year, CKFI was added in Swift Current, and CKVX in Kindersley. DiscoverFoothills.com (later separated to HighRiverOnline.com and OkotoksOnline.com) launched out of the High River and Okotoks locations. And Golden West was named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies for the first of several times.

2006

Recognizing the next generation was listening to FM stations, Golden West began adding FM stations in every community that was already served by the company’s AM stations. This was when CKRC was launched in Weyburn.

2007

CFXO was launched in High River and Okotoks, serving southern Alberta. That summer, DiscoverWeyburn.com and DiscoverEstevan.com were launched in rapid succession. Meanwhile, in Manitoba, CJEL and CKMW moved into new studios and offices on 1st Street in Winkler.

2008

CJAW was added to increase service to Moose Jaw, and CFEQ Winnipeg was acquired. DiscoverRosetown.com and DiscoverKindersley.com launched, later merged into WestCentralOnline.com.

2010

Community portal DiscoverWestman.com was launched as a complement to CJRB, serving Boissevain and Southwestern Manitoba.

2011

Golden West acquired CFIT in Airdrie and CFIT-1 Cochrane, adding DiscoverAirdrie.com as another local service. Later in the year, Humboldt received its first ever radio station, CHBO, supported by DiscoverHumboldt.com.

2012

We added an additional FM radio station in Estevan: CKSE.

2013

In Portage, CHPO joined its sister stations. Later in the year, CHWY was added in Weyburn. And at the end of 2013, CFEQ was relaunched at increased power as CKCL Classic 107 – Winnipeg’s only dedicated classical and jazz music station. To complement CKCL, we launched Classic107.com.

2014

2014

Country 107 Launch

Steinbach launched its third radio station with CJXR. Meanwhile, for the first time since 1977, the Golden West engineering team designed and built a complete AM/FM transmitter and tower site from scratch in Estevan, Saskatchewan.

2015

Golden West acquired CJUV in Lacombe, Alberta. This same year, Elmer Hildebrand was inducted into the Manitoba Business Hall of Fame.

2016

In Alberta, LacombeOnline.com (later CentralAlbertaOnline.com) was launched to complement CJUV. This was also the year that Golden West launched CochraneNow.com alongside its first mobile app, CochraneNow.

2018

Golden West bumped up its Alberta properties by launching CKOV in Cochrane and CKMR StrathmoreNow.com in Strathmore. This was also the year we launched HelloGoodBuy.ca, a new local buy/sell app.

2019

Golden West launched Homefield, providing a full range of marketing solutions and services, beyond radio and portal advertising.

2021

Golden West acquired Summit Organizational Development, relaunching the business as Homefield People & Strategy, positioning the company to strengthen internal teams while driving external engagement in all aspects.

2022

The last batch of Golden West’s portal companion apps were released, so all community service properties could be easily used on smartphones.

2023

Golden West underwent a lengthy Organizational Clarity process. With feedback from all our Golden West teammates and countless connections with leaders, our company’s purpose emerged: WE EXIST TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITIES BETTER.