Five things about Evan Bray: The New Voice of Saskatchewan

Tom Bray didn’t know it at the time, but he played an active role in forging Saskatchewan’s newest talk show.

Evan Bray said his dad always made time for coffee, so they’d head to the Esso in Balcarres – and inevitably, conversations would begin among the locals.

“That’s coffee row,” said Bray, the new host of the flagship talk show on 980 CJME and 650 CKOM. “It’s a hodge-podge of discussions. Everybody’s got an opinion. Nobody’s told, ‘You can’t be here.’ Your opinions are welcome, but maybe not agreed with.

“Maybe an argument breaks out. Pretty much every day, laughter breaks outs. That feels like what this is all about. It’s the big table in Saskatchewan where people can come together, sip their coffee and either participate or just listen to the conversation that’s happening.”

That’s what happened Monday, when The Evan Bray Show made its debut. The show can be heard weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the time slot held for 25 years by John Gormley.

Here are five things to know about Evan Bray, the new Voice of Saskatchewan.

“You’re eating really good home-cooked meals and if you’re hauling grain in a grain truck, it gives you lots of time to decompress and think,” Bray says of working on the family farm. (Photo submitted)

Down on the farm

Bray was born in Abernethy and grew up on the family farm near that town.

Throughout his adult life, no matter where he was working, he has always headed home to help with harvest.

“I’m one of those farm kids that loved growing up on the farm and loves going back to help on the farm but had no interest in being a farmer,” says Bray, 53.

Bray’s brother Tim still farms the land, so Evan provides help when the time comes.

“People used to say, ‘Are you crazy? You’re taking holidays to work?’ But that doesn’t feel like work,” he says. “You’re eating really good home-cooked meals and if you’re hauling grain in a grain truck, it gives you lots of time to decompress and think.

“It takes me back to growing up out there. I’ve always loved that.”

Police radio

Growing up, Bray wanted to be a police officer. He applied to the RCMP when he graduated from high school, but the Mounties told him to find something else to do first before embarking on a career in policing.

The advice of a high school guidance counsellor sent Bray toward radio.

“I did a radio program over our P.A. system in the school for grades 10, 11 and 12,” he recalls. “Every morning, I’d go down to the office and I would do announcements: ‘The senior girls volleyball team has a game after school. We’re still looking for a couple of people to work in the canteen. Go and talk to Mr. So-And-So for details.’ ”

After graduating from high school, Bray applied to the Prairie Broadcast Training Institute in Regina. His first full-time job was at CJME.

During one of his shows, he had a Regina police officer on as a guest to discuss Halloween safety tips. During a commercial, Bray told the officer about his dream to be a cop, and the officer encouraged him to apply to the Regina Police Service.

He applied, got hired in 1995 and spent more than 27 years on the force.

“It was weird how I wanted to be a cop but that didn’t work, so I went to radio,” Bray said, “and then while I’m in radio, I get introduced to a cop who gets me into the Regina Police Service.”

Bray spent more than 27 years with the Regina Police Service, rising from constable to chief during his career. (980 CJME file photo)

On the beat

Bray’s first shift as a police officer was on New Year’s Eve of 1995. His first call – the first of many – was about a stolen car.

“I liked being out on the front line in a police car responding to 911 calls,” he says when asked what he enjoyed about the job. “I did many years as a constable, I was out on the street as a corporal for many years, and I was on the street as a sergeant for many years.

“Every time I would get promoted, even though there was a bunch of opportunities or places you could go, I found myself always going back to that – the unpredictability of it (and) the true, genuine interaction with people. Sometimes you’re seeing them on the worst day of their life, but it really gave you an opportunity to make a difference. I always appreciated that.”

In 2016, Bray was hired to be the chief of the RPS, a job he held until retiring from it this summer. He said he believes it prepared him well for his new job on the airwaves.

“If you think about what I did as a chief of police, No. 1, we tackled hard issues,” he said. “There was always something in front of you that was of fairly significant concern for the community. At the same time, people look to you to say, ‘How are we going to get through this?’

“You had to be able to make decisions that weren’t always the popular one but you made it based on your sound reasoning and your past experiences and what’s best for the community.”

The sporting life

Bray played a variety of sports growing up and, at age 11, started officiating hockey games.

During his career in stripes, he worked games in the SJHL, WHL and university ranks and, at one point, thought about trying to get a gig in the NHL.

Instead, he opted for careers in radio and policing – until 1997, that is, when he returned to the sports world as the public address announcer for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“There were many nights where on a Friday night, the night shift (for police officers) starts at 7 o’clock, so I would go to work, get dressed in my uniform, go to Taylor Field and do the game in my uniform,” Bray said.

“At the end of the game, my partner would pick me up and we’d go to work. Then, at the end of the shift, he’d take me to my car which was at Taylor Field. It was the goofiest thing.”

He held that job until 2010, giving it up prior to the 2011 season after his dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. Tom died in September of that year.

“I loved the 13 years that I was with the Riders doing that job,” Bray said. “It was a cool experience. I had been a season-ticket holder prior to that, so I was going to the games anyway. I just had a little bit better seat.”

Quite the collection

Bray is an avid collector of antiques and sports memorabilia, a hobby sparked by his Grade 3 teacher, who collected hockey cards.

“My collection has gone from a fun little hobby as a kid to an out-of-control obsession as an adult – my wife might say that,” Bray said with a laugh. “I’m a big collector, not just of hockey cards, but of hockey memorabilia, especially some of the old stuff that you can’t get as easily.”

Bray’s a big fan of the New York Islanders, so his most-prized possession is a painting of Mike Bossy done by Regina artist Drew Hunter. What makes it extra special is that it’s autographed by Bossy.

Bray was going to give some Bossy memorabilia to a friend who was organizing an event in Regina and, since Bossy was to be in attendance, Bray suggested the former Islanders star sign the items.

When the friend came by to collect the memorabilia to be autographed, he brought a guest.

“He showed up with Mike Bossy at my house,” Bray said. “My son had just burned toast in the kitchen! I’m freaking out: ‘Oh my God!’ My childhood idol was at my house.

“I didn’t take him downstairs. The basement is where I have my Islanders stuff displayed, and he would have taken a restraining order out on me if he saw how many Mike Bossy pictures I have.”

Bray, a huge New York Islanders fan, poses with former Isles goalie Billy Smith and a signed piece of memorabilia. (Submitted)

Here’s the first segment from Bray’s debut show Monday: