The world outside the window is still dark and asleep when Clayton Dreger's 2:30 a.m. alarm rings, calling him to work.
For four decades, Dreger has left the comfort of his warm bed in the middle of the night and, for most of those years, travelled an hour from his home in St. Norbert to Golden West's headquarters in Altona to gather the latest in local sports news and scores in time for us to catch them in the 6 a.m. sportscast on CFAM 950, CHSM 1250 and CJRB 1220 every weekday.
This morning, however, is different.
After a 40-year career of “connecting communities” at southern Manitoba arenas, baseball diamonds, curling rinks, gyms and golf courses, Dreger is preparing to turn off his microphone and hang up his headphones for the last time and retiring.
It all started for Dreger when he was 20 years old, living in Morris and serving on the Board of Directors for the Morris Curling Club.
"CFAM Radio sent the Club a letter saying they would like somebody to do reports from the Morris Men's bonspiel, and everybody's looking at each other so I said I'd do it. So, when the bonspiel started, I did two reports a day and a wrap up report on Monday," reflected Dreger. "We went to the restaurant in Morris, and they had the radio on and we heard it on Monday morning and had good laugh about that.
But, through that, I got to know Al Friesen, who was Program Director at the time. He was also the President of the Southern Manitoba Super Curling League and their first draw in the fall of 1984 was in Morris. So, it's a Saturday afternoon and I decide to go to the club for lunch and I see Al, say 'hi', and then he asked the question, what are you doing? 'Well, I'm working construction in Winnipeg, but I really want to get into radio, and he looked at me with this kind of blank look on his face and says, 'well, we're looking for somebody'."
Friesen encouraged Dreger to give the news director, Ken Klassen, a call.
"I continued on with the construction for a bit until it got way too cold for my liking and called Ken. He said, 'come on in'. We had the interview, and I read for him and went back home, and then he called me back and said, 'can you come in on January 7th?'. And that was Day 1, 1985."
"It was magical," said Dreger, of the opportunity to get his foot in the door.
"The voice of Jim McSweeney on the Morning Show. Just to watch Jim come in and do what he did was just so special. But then to learn from Ken and Harv Kroeker in the Newsroom, was just so good."
After what seemed like weeks of reading copy and reviewing the recordings, Dreger stepped into the sportscaster role.
"You realize then (that) it's real. That now you need to understand what's happening in each region of the province where our stations are, and that was so much fun. You know, you're in your mid-20s and it's your dream job. Of course, you're just thrilled to have gotten into the business and you're getting paid to talk. That was just way too cool."
Starting out with a typewriter and reel-to-reel recording devices to using computers and digital editing software to get his sportscasts to air, Dreger has experienced many changes throughout his four-decade career.
One thing that hasn't changed, however, is Dreger's belief in the importance of having local high school or young amateur athletes on the air.
"I just think it's so special. You go on the radio, and you say that in the Zone 4 High School Hockey League, Sam Hildebrand stopped 32 shots as the Morden Thunder beat the Carman Cougars, on CFAM. In Steinbach, you mention that Cole Mistelbacher scored in overtime as Steinbach Regional beat Lord Selkirk, or Landon Lockhart had a hat trick as Killarney/Wawanessa beat the Neepawa Tigers on CJRB. And then for someone to maybe go up to Sam, Cole and Landon at school and say they heard their names on the radio or saw it in our sports update page on our online portals. That is just - it's so great."
Not only has Dreger's name become synonymous in local sports venues across Southern Manitoba, but he's been welcomed into locker rooms of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Winnipeg Jets, to name a few. You've also likely spotted his Radio Southern Manitoba microphone flasher front and centre at any provincial-level sports news conference.
However, it's rubbing elbows with the likes of Manitoba sports legends like Bob Picken, Bob Irving, Jack Matheson and Jack Wells that Dreger says are some of the highlights of his career.
"In the business back in 1985, here's this 25-year-old from Morris working for Radio Southern Manitoba who knows them, but now he's associated, if you like, with them. That was so special, to get to meet them and then become a Member of the Mantle of Sports Writers and Sportscasters Association. Just to be with them was so, so much fun."
As well, Dreger got to watch the greatest golfer ever, Jack Nicklaus, play at St. Charles in the Canadian Senior Men's Open Championship, and interviewed one of the greatest hockey players of all time, Bobby Orr at Assiniboia Downs.
With 40 years in the business, Dreger's advice to young people looking to get into broadcasting is, get your foot in the door.
"[...} and then just work so hard and keep at it. Either through interviewing who you need to interview, whether it's athlete or student athlete, or coach, just get better and keep working hard. You never know. Someone might hear you or see what you wrote and get a phone call and say, 'hey, can we talk?'
Looking back, Dreger says it was a dream job.
"It's hard to put into words," he said, getting emotional. "[It's] something you hope to and then do. That's what made it so special. That I got the chance. The chance to work for Elmer (Hildebrand) and then, over the years, your coworkers. It's just fabulous."
Listen to Dreger's full interview below.
With files from Chris Sumner and Robyn Wiebe