CKVR alumni reunite

Familiar faces were brought back together as more than a hundred CKVR alumni gathered at Donaleigh's Irish Public House in Barrie Saturday night for a special reunion.

Those in attendance included former news anchors Keith Radford and Sharon Burkhart, as well as sportscaster George Bryson.

Bryson and former control room supervisor Jeff Burtch co-organized the event.

"We had an idea six months ago, wouldn't it be great to get all the old CKVR people back together," said Bryson. "We put it out on social media, and we were shocked [about] how many people responded that they wanted to come."

• Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device 
• Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox

Radford's first job in television was at CKVR before spending two years at CTV Toronto, five years at NBC Salt Lake City and 34 years at Eyewitness News Channel 7 in Buffalo. He recently retired.

"It's good to see these people I hadn't seen in 40 years," said Radford. "[Bryson] looks exactly the same, except his hair turned all white for some reason."

Burkhart spent 15 years at CKVR as a reporter and anchor.

"It was always the people," she said. "We all grew up together, and so many of us are still fast friends."

Behind-the-scenes alums included longtime technician Bob Hebden and Susan Laycock in promotions.

"When there's a chance to see them all again, you jump on it," said Hebden. "I'm enjoying seeing everybody here."

Laycock referred to her former colleagues as family.

"We hung out together; we were friends. We all kind of had children at the same time," she said. "We really liked each other, and we missed each other."

"I just think that the people that I had a chance to work with up on the hill were so talented and so good at what they did and worked so hard to put the best product they could on the air every day," added Bryson. "I just really appreciated working with them."