Talk show host Hall-bound
Pawtucket Hall of Fame to induct radio’s Ron St. Pierre
After 40 years, the life’s work of Ron St. Pierre, who grew up on Vine Street in Pawtucket’s Darlington section, has not only stood the test of time, for he has become a longtime fixture in the Rhode Island broadcast community. One of his most shining achievements was being inducted into the Rhode Island Radio Hall of Fame in 2010. This Pawtucket native has certainly gone a long way in his broadcasting profession and its particularly rewarding to hear his local pride is still there, as he tells stories onthe-air about growing up here.
The Pawtucket Hall of Fame is extremely proud to welcome St. Pierre into the Pawtucket Hall of Fame. He’ll join seven other award recipients on Friday, Oct. 27, at the Pawtucket Armory Arts Center beginning at 6 p.m. This award is given to those individuals who have gone “above and beyond” in helping their community and/or have been a vehicle to shine a positive light on the city. This is a way of recognizing those pertinent and outstanding contributions.
FOUR-DECADE HISTORY OF ACHIEVEMENTS
Once he got into the broadcasting profession, St. Pierre turned his talents up to full throttle. During his time at Rhode Island College, he began to learn the ropes of TV production as a weekend cameraman for WJAR-TV 10 in Providence. He started his radio career at WNRI in Woonsocket in 1977 and never looked back. His first major position was as program director for 920 WHJJ-AM from 1982 to 1988, now known as NewsRadio 920. He was also part of The WHJJ Morning Show at that time, eventually serving as program director for both 920 WHJJ AM and its sister station, 94 HJYFM during the last year of this tenure.
During his time at WHJJ, St. Pierre literally helped revolutionize talk radio in Rhode Island in terms of listenership and ratings. He recruited then-mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci for his first stint as a talkshow host at this time, while working with other local radio stalwarts such as Steve Kass.
In his spare time, St. Pierre served as a weekend sports anchor for WPRI-TV 12. During the early and mid 1990s, he man- aged several stations in Providence, before taking a series of management positions in West Palm Beach and New York City. He returned to Rhode Island radio in 1997. Now, he began with a highly-successful on-air and program-management tenure at WPRO 630 AM, again enabling his chosen station to rise to the apex of listenership and ratings in our state’s highly competitive radio market. The station’s hosts at that time included the legendary Salty Brine, along with the return of Buddy Cianci to the airwaves – with whom he co-hosted a highlysuccessful afternoon drive-time show.
Fittingly, St. Pierre’s career has now come full circle as a popular morning-drive host at NewsRadio 920 (formerly 920 WHJJ). His unassuming, authentic style and natural quick-wit are enjoyed daily by a wide expanse of radio listeners in Rhode Island and neighboring Southeastern New England.
THE EARLY GENESIS OF A CREATIVE SPIRIT
Anyone who knew St. Pierre back at Pawtucket-based Saint Raphael Academy was pretty sure that he would in up in the broadcasting business. It would also most likely be in front of a microphone — where his personality, wit and intelligence could take him quite far.
“In his high school yearbook profile, at St. Raphael Academy in 1973, Ron said his life’s goal was to become a sportscaster. So a career in broadcast was always in his mind. But he opened it up a lot wider than any of us could imagine,” says Ron Fournier, an advertising copywriter and musician who’s known the WHJJ talk show host for over 40 years.
During high school and college days, St. Pierre was already working magic with his reel-to-reel tape recorder. He would create uproariously funny audio bits, in the style of the classic National Lampoon and Firesign Theatre albums at that time. He was already setting himself up to be a voice talent and producer back then.
“Ron is a virtual encyclopedia of comedy who’s studied all the greats – from the Marx Brothers to the present day,” Fournier adds. “That’s where his quick wit comes from. On the air, you never know what kind of quip or one-liner is coming next. But you know it’ll be a classic in his trademark. tongue-in-cheek style of humor.”
St. Pierre now lives in East Greenwich with his wife, Patti, and their dog, Hazel.
PAWTUCKET HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
The Pawtucket Hall of Fame cordially invites the public attend its annual Pawtucket Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 27, 2017 beginning at 6 p.m. (reception), 7 p.m. (dinner) at the Pawtucket Armory Arts Center 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket. Tickets may be purchased at the Blackstone Valley Visitor’s Center, 175 Main St., Pawtucket, open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The master of ceremonies for the evening will be news anchor/reporter, Alison Bologna from WJAR-NBC 10.
The rest of this year’s 2017 Pawtucket Hall of Fame Inductees are: civic activist Janina “Jean” Babiec; American film director Kevin Lima; and the late coach and coordinator Robert K. Neill, Sr.
Also, being recognized this year as “historical inductees” are the late Dr. Ellen R. Jolly and the late Edwin Darling. In addition to these inductions, the tradition of presenting the “Person of the Year” award, which began three years ago as a special award given to recognize the person(s) the committee believes has made an outstanding contribution over the past year will be shared by two recipients this year: Mayor Donald R. Grebien, City of Pawtucket and Adrienne Marchetti, director of the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen.
Tickets are $45 per person (cash or check only) and must be purchased in advance. Tables of 10 may be purchased to accommodate a group or family, and should be purchased early and as available. Tickets will not be sold at the door. The Pawtucket Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization established in 1986 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Pawtucket as a city. The purpose of the Hall of Fame is to honor the contributions of people whose efforts, in any line of endeavor, have added to the heritage of the City of Pawtucket.
For details, call Patty Zacks, chair, Pawtucket Hall of Fame at 401-2735367.