CBC's John Sauder calls for low pressure, more relaxation as sun sets on 39-year career
Accidental career took him from airborne traffic reporter to only broadcast meteorologist on TV in Manitoba
John Sauder's career is highlighted by as many highs and lows as a temperamental season across the Prairies but as he now prepares for the sun to set on 39 years of broadcasting, Capt. John looks ahead to clear skies.
Schedules, rather. Clear schedules.
"I'm looking forward to a lot less of being on a deadline," he said this week, sitting at his desk in the CBC Manitoba TV studio as he prepared one of his final forecasts.
His final broadcast happens Friday.
"To be able to finish my career here is awesome. It's the pinnacle of broadcasting in Manitoba and to be working here is really something I'm very proud of," Sauder said.
Near him stood cards, gift certificates, and weather shots sent in from around the province — the type Sauder regularly features in his weather segment — all of it from viewers and fans of one of Winnipeg's best-known TV personalities.
"You get the odd Christmas card, but people sending you gifts? I mean, I'm overwhelmed at the reaction," he said about the response to his retirement news.
On Tuesday, he was broadcasting from inside Canada Life Centre ahead of the Winnipeg Jets game and was greeted by a steady wave of people offering congratulations.
"I don't want to say I'm embarrassed but, I don't know. Humbled is maybe a better word," Sauder said.
He's even been peppered with pleas to reconsider, but Sauder's sticking to his plan.
"As much as I'm surprised by the reaction, I'm also very surprised at how at peace I am with my decision," he said. "I haven't felt any regrets. I feel really good about it … 39 years is a long time."
It's a planned and deliberate ending — opposite to how it all began.
The son of an air force fighter pilot, Sauder saw himself on a different sort of air wave. He hoped to land a job as a pilot with a commercial airline, but those jobs were few and far between.
So when his flying club said radio station KY-58 was looking for someone to pilot a Cessna over the city for traffic reports, Sauder presented his logbook, assuming he would fly the reporter around.
It was only during the interview that he learned he would be the reporter.
"I walked out of there nervous as all get-out because I thought, I'm going to be on the radio if I get this job?"
He did get it and delivered his first hit Dec. 12, 1984, at age 23.
In no time, Sauder earned the on-air nickname Capt. John.
WATCH | A look back at John Sauder's career:
He logged nearly 8,000 hours of flying time over a 10-year period with KY-58.
"A lot of the same skills I use today, I learned in those 10 years," he said.
The flying was grounded in late 1994 due to cutbacks and layoffs.
A few months later, Sauder got a call from CKY-TV (now CTV), the television sister to KY-58, to fill in as a weather person on their news hour despite having no TV experience.
He became full-time in 2000 and decided, if he was going to give the weather, he wanted to analyze the data and create forecasts, not just repeat an Environment Canada one.
He obtained a certificate in broadcast meteorology through Mississippi State University, taking an online course for three years while working full-time and hosting promotional events.
"It was really intense. I think I dropped to my knees and bawled my eyes out when I learned I had passed the final exam and done fairly well and could now call myself a meteorologist," he said.
Fairly well?
Of 110 people who started the course, only 65 finished. Seven received the academic excellence award for earning 90 per cent or higher in every course. Sauder was one of those.
He became the only broadcast meteorologist on TV in Manitoba and moved to CBC News in 2007, where his profile really took off.
WATCH | Sauder takes CBC for a traffic tour in 1994:
He made countless appearances at community events, whirled through a Dancing with Celebrities fundraiser and became an honorary Royal Canadian Air Force colonel with the 402 Squadron at 17 Wing and with 2 Canadian Air Division, which gave him the chance to fly a CF-18 jet.
"I was never in it for the notoriety. I got into it because I like talking about weather and I'm passionate about weather and I hope that came through," Sauder said.
While he's enjoyed the star status, at 62, he's now looking forward to some anonymity.
"I still won't feel like I can go out in public and misbehave or anything," he said with a laugh.
Being a local celebrity brings fans, but being a meteorologist brings criticism, too. Sauder takes it in stride.
"I can't control the weather, but there's a difference between a bad forecast and bad weather," he said. "If I forecast bad weather and it happens, that's a good forecast."
One that stands out for him is when a major summer storm hit the province in 2008. He urged people to take cover, a warning that provided enough time for some rural folks to get their animals into shelter.
"It saved their farm. To hear that from them, that's what it's about," Sauder said.
In another case, his forecast convinced a family to delay a road trip to the United States by one day.
A nasty winter system that sent cars into ditches roared through the path they would have taken.
"When you make a difference like that, it's always good," he said.
With their own path opening up, Sauder and wife, Kim, are creating their own forecast, which calls for a mix of low pressure and several activities — skiing, travel, hiking, biking, and playing golf and pickleball.
Sauder's not ruling out "dabbling in a little bit of work here and there," but he plans to spend more time on his sailboat and once again become a captain.
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