One day, Shelagh Rogers was hosting a classical music program at the Queen's University radio station. During a long piece, the phone rang. It was the program director for the local country and western station offering her a job. She thought it was a joke. She hung up on the caller. But he called back and Shelagh said "let's give it a try" and that's how Shelagh Rogers began her career in radio.

In 1980, she joined CBC Radio. Six years later, she interviewed Peter Gzowski about his plans to raise money for literacy through golf. Peter then invited her to read the listener mail on his program Morningside. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Shelagh hosted local current affairs programs before becoming founding host of The Arts Tonight. She was also part of the wildly popular Humline Trio on Basic Black and sidekick to the inimitable Max Ferguson. In 1995, Peter Gzowski created a new role for Shelagh: Deputy Host of Morningside. In September of 2000, she began two years as host of CBC Radio's flagship daily current affairs program This Morning. Her morning time slot morphed into Sounds Like Canada.

In 2008, Shelagh left daily radio to become host of a new weekly program devoted to Canadian writing of all kinds: The Next Chapter, produced by Shelagh's longtime books producer Jacqueline Kirk. When not preparing for the show, Shelagh speaks publicly about mental health and literacy. She is also passionate ocean swimmer and doesn't feel the cold at all.

In the spring of 2008, she received a Transforming Lives Award from the Canadian Association for Mental Health. In the fall, she was named a Champion of Mental Health and also received the Peter Gzowski Literacy Award of Merit. She has a John Drainie Award for Significant Contribution to Canadian Broadcasting, an Honourary Doctorate from the University of Western Ontario and a Certificate for best spring-roll maker and egg cracker from Mitzi's Sister Restaurant in Toronto. She is also an honourary member of the League of Canadian Poets, which must make one of her producers, Tom Howell, crazy.

Here's who works with Shelagh behind the scenes...
Producer: Jacqueline Kirk
Associate Producers: Heather Brown and Tom Howell
Executive Producer: Susan Feldman


http://www.cbc.ca/thenextchapter/