CJAV began operations on April 1, 1946 on 1240
AM, using a 250-watt transmitter upon startup. The station, originally owned by Harold Warren, was the starting point for the careers of a number of broadcasters, including Jack Cullen (who later moved on to
CKNW, then located in
New Westminster), Joe Chesney (who went on to found
Langley station CJJC [now
CKST Vancouver] in 1963), George Cowie (later of
CFUN Vancouver), Bob Switzer (later of Vancouver
CBC Television station
CBUT), Philip Barter (who moved on to
CHEK-TV in
Victoria and
CHAN-TV in Vancouver) and
Jim Robson (who became the radio voice of the
NHL's
Vancouver Canucks on CKNW). A year after CJAV signed on, Warren sold 50% of the station to CKNW founder Bill Rea, with Chuck Rudd and Ken Hutcheson later acting as station managers under Rea. In 1952, Warren sold his remaining ownership stake to Rudd and Hutcheson. In 1960, CJAV's operating power increased to 1,000 watts in the daytime, remaining at 250 watts at night, and the station was on hand to cover the aftermath of the
tsunami that affected the then-twin cities of Port Alberni and Alberni on March 27, 1964, following the
Good Friday earthquake that hit
Anchorage, Alaska earlier that day. CJAV, an affiliate of
CBC Radio since sign-on in 1946, was authorized by the
CRTC on June 5, 1984 to disaffiliate from the network after CBC established Port Alberni repeater station
CBTQ-FM, originally a rebroadcaster of Vancouver station
CBU (now rebroadcasting
CBCV-FM in Victoria), in December 1983. On December 13, 1984, CJAV increased its transmission power to 1,000 watts day and night, and in early 1987, the station began broadcasting 24 hours a day, with overnight programming coming from the
Toronto-based Satellite Radio Network. On June 25, 2004, CJAV was purchased by Central Island Broadcasting Ltd. (now Island Radio). On April 18, 2005, Island Radio received approval from the
CRTC to switch CJAV over to the FM band on 93.3 MHz with operating power of 6,000 watts; the switch took place on September 2 (with simulcasting on its old 1240 AM frequency continuing until early December) and the station adopted its current mixed format of
adult contemporary and
active rock. On June 22, original CJAV owner Harold Warren died at age 90. On November 1, 2005, Pattison and Island Radio announced that Island Radio Ltd. of
Nanaimo, B.C. had agreed to sell its six radio stations (and related assets) to the
Jim Pattison Broadcast Group. The stations involved in the transaction include CJAV,
CKWV-FM and
CHWF-FM in
Nanaimo,
CIBH-FM and
CHPQ-FM in
Parksville-
Qualicum Beach and
CKLR-FM in
Courtenay. With the approval of the CRTC,
Jim Pattison assumed ownership of the Island Radio stations (including CJAV) at midnight on June 30, 2006. On April 1, 2006 CJAV (The Peak) celebrated its 60th anniversary serving the Alberni Valley. Recent well wishers calling into the station included BC Premier
Gordon Campbell, BC Lieutenant Governor
Iona Campagnolo, Port Alberni-born "Man In Motion"
Rick Hansen, legendary CKNW broadcaster Jim Robson, and Port Alberni mayor Ken McRae. In 2014 afternoon host Jolie McMullan departed the station for a position at the
Alberni Valley Bulldogs. As of January 1, 2022, on-air staff consisted of: Evan Hammond - morning host & play-by-play voice of the
Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL), David Wiwchar - Morning News & Operations / Sales Manager, Graeme Tait - Midday Host, Dalton Derkson - Afternoon Drive host. ==References==