Lisa Drew signing off after 33 years of broadcasting in Waterloo Region

Her voice was one of the first that you would hear tuning into CityNews 570 every morning in the early morning hours.

Lisa Drew is anchoring her final newscast Friday morning, before she’s set to retire from broadcasting.

Lisa’s time with the station started back in 1990, as part of the news and traffic team on 570 CHYM.

In 2004, that’s when the radio station you know today, switched formats to the news wheel format. Lisa was hired to be the morning co-anchor with Glenn Pelletier. That relationship would last 16 years.

All News Mornings with Lisa Drew and Glenn Pelletier became a fixture in the community. If it was happening in Waterloo Region, Lisa and Glenn would bring you the latest headlines locally and internationally.

Don Kollins was the former program director for CKGL-AM when the format switched to the news wheel.

“When bringing her on board as part of the news wheel, Lisa was a household name already. The sound and voice of Lisa was the sound of reason and the voice of news. When listeners hear her voice and her delivering a story, it comes with instant credibility. It was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make as a manager was making sure that she was a part of the wheel,” said Kollins.

Kollins adds through all the changes, Lisa’s been the constant voice that has been there through it all.

“Lisa’s voice has been part of the biggest stories in Waterloo Region for this entire time,” said Kollins. “One thing that is going to be sadly missed moving forward is the absence of her being on and being part of those stories moving forward (…) the people that are going to suffer are the listeners to the radio station, not having Lisa part of that moving forward.”

Lisa would guide the morning team as morning managing editor to three national Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in broadcasting. Those awards came in 2004, 2007 and 2020. Along with those national Murrow awards came countless regional Edward R. Murrow awards which qualified the morning show to compete on the national stage in the international category.

“I can’t over-estimate the power of an Edward R. Murrow award in broadcasting,” said Kollins. “This is the Grammy awards, the Emmy’s of radio stations and radio newscasts. Her voice, words, and fingertips that went out to the public are on each one of those. That is absolutely incredible when you look at the career that Lisa has put together, performed, executed, trained and helped others develop. She is leaving a legacy like no other in Waterloo Region.”

Lisa has been honored by multiple community organizations in Waterloo Region.

In 2013, Lisa was awarded the Arnold Devlin Community Award for Media from the Ontario Association for Suicide Prevention for her series “Hope and Help” to raise awareness about teen suicide. In 2014, she was honored by the YWCA Cambridge for a YWCA Women of Distinction Award.

Her mentorship played a key role in the CityNews 570 newsroom. She helped many talented journalists get ready for their next step. Whether it was TV, radio in a bigger market or anything in between, Lisa provided guidance and mentorship to many over the years. Some names that continue to work in radio broadcasting across the country to this day.

You can listen to Lisa’s final newscast below: