The voice of agriculture in Swift Current and across the prairies for Golden West Broadcasting was honoured last Friday by the Saskatchewan Association of Broadcasters (SAB).
Glenda-Lee (Allan) Vossler joined a prestigious and short list of current/former broadcasters as she was inducted into the SAB's Hall of Fame in Saskatoon.
The 38-year radio veteran was caught off guard when she received the email notifying her, she was going to be inducted.
"It's something I never would have imagined," she humbly said moments after the induction ceremony. "I just do my job, I just talk to people. It's the people and the stories and the information that they share with me that make my job easy."
Radio was a big part of Vossler's childhood growing up on a mixed farming operation in Rathwell, Manitoba. The local radio station CFRY 920 out of Portage la Prairie played in her home constantly. In 1984, she joined the station as a copywriter and receptionist.
"Radio is fun, it should be fun," she said in her induction speech. "It's an opportunity to meet people, talk with people, share their stories, and that's what I love about radio."
Her broadcast career quickly began to take shape as she was shifted into the newsroom the following year and continued in the same role when she joined Brandon's CKLQ.
After a brief break from radio, Vossler returned in 1989 as the news director in Dauphin, Manitoba.
Swift Current entered the picture for her in August of 1990 as she moved to Saskatchewan becoming the afternoon news anchor for CKSW 570.
"In my head when I moved here, I was going to come for a year and go back to Manitoba," she recalled. "Thirty-three years later, I'm still here. It's the people that have been so open and welcoming. Everybody I meet feels like a friend and somebody I've known forever."
It didn't take long for her in Swift Current to be shifted into covering agriculture.
"She [Deborah Gauger, the station manager] put me in as agriculture director and then it eventually grew to helping other stations," she said.
"Now looking back, it was a dream come true because it really isn't work. You get the chance to talk to people about what's new, exciting, and how it can benefit others."
Vossler began covering agriculture news in Estevan, Weyburn, and Swift Current. Now, her work is displayed across all 20 communities Golden West owns radio stations in, with her holding the title of provincial agriculture specialist for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
"The people in the industry are so warm and they have so much information," she said. "I feel like I only touch the surface of what needs to get out there. I'm very thankful and grateful to our listeners that open up and share their stories. Everyone has a story to tell, and it's important to tell it."
According to Vossler, she intends to be around for a number of years to come with Golden West and the radio industry as she approaches four decades of broadcasting.
"It's kind of funny, I started my career at CFRY before it was a Golden West station," she said. "And when I end my career, I will end it on CFRY."
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