About Ron Moores

Who is this fellow in the fancy headgear?

Ron Moores was born the youngest of four children, in Port Washington, on Long Island, New York, U.S.A. His father was Newfoundland born (Northern Bay, in Conception Bay) and his mother was born in Charleston South Carolina which may explain his eclectic musical tastes.

At the age of 12, he moved to the rural town of St. Luc Quebec, in the Richelieu Valley, south-east of Montréal. There, he lived for about eight years with his mother Ellen, step-father Raymond and their son, Ray Jr. During this period, Ron commuted to Royal George High School in Greenfield Park, on the south shore of Montréal. University and work led him to live in the Canadian cities of Montréal, Winnipeg and Ottawa.

Music has always been a big part of Ron's life. His first "paper route" dollars were spent on model trains, 45's and a hi-fi system. Although he was always a pop, rock, folk and country music fan, Bluegrass was a more recent addition to his musical range. Ron taught himself to play acoustic guitar in his teens and sang along to his own playing. He has also taken guitar lessons as well as voice instruction.

Formal education includes a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Economics & Political Science) from Sir George Williams University (now Concordia) and a Master of Arts in Labour Economics from the New School for Social Research in New York City. In his graduating year at Sir George, he was a member of the Honour Society (Garnet Key) as well as President of the Students Undergraduate Society (SUS).

His career includes six years at Air Canada and 23 years as a federal public servant in various capacities generally in the area of labour relations, human resource management and policy evaluation. During this period, he travelled extensively across Canada, "from Bonavista to the Vancouver Island". In addition, he has taught courses in labour economics and labour relations at Concordia University (Sir George Williams), Carleton University, and the University of Ottawa.

He happily left government in 1995 and has been doing consulting work since then.

Being self-employed has one huge advantage -- you are the master of your own schedule and can make time for your passions. Ron always hoped to be more involved in music, perhaps playing in a band or hosting a radio program. He is a lucky man indeed as all these things seem to have come to fruition.

In 1992, Ron's former wife Grace connected him to Ron Sweetman, long time CKCU host of "In a Mellow Tone" who started the ball rolling with an application for CKCU's training program. Ron soon found himself in the closed- circuit" studio, audible only in the student centre washroom - his "pissoir" period!

In April 1993, Bill Grant, the founding host of the Back 40, invited Ron to join the Back 40 "Collective" of Bill, Doug Torrance and Dave deJongh. When Bill Grant suddenly passed away in the summer of 1993 and Doug and Dave moved away from Ottawa, the show fell entirely to Ron. He has kept the show true to its original intent by building on the traditional Country, Western and Bluegrass theme.

Ron works hard to produce a quality show each week. Hours of research, interviewing and development go into each program. He has developed a natural, friendly style and an endless fascination for the people and stories behind the music. The program just keeps getting better and better. As regular listeners will know, he still has an occasional button, dial and switch problem. Anyone who knows how community radio operates will attest that the show hosts have to "multi-task" and often bring in a guest while stacking up the next CD, loading up a station break, and finding the scribbled notes with this week's bulletin board announcements.

His natural moderator's style has also led to an expanding role as the introducer of feature artists and bands at music venues and festivals from Ontario to Newfoundland. Being fluently bilingual is also very useful for this role! He regularly introduces at the Black Sheep in Wakefield (Quebec) and for the Ottawa Valley Bluegrass Association Concert Series. He has also hosted events at the Stewart Park Festival in Perth, the first annual Vankleek Bluegrass Festival and this year he will again emcee the Bluegrass Stage at the Palmer Rapids Twin Festivals, as well as the new Country and Bluegrass Festival in Orono, Ontario.

Now a regular volunteer at the Newfoundland-Labrador Folkfestival in St.John's Newfoundland, Ron and his "Back 40" band have also played on occasion at the home of the St.John's Folk Arts Council at the legendary "Ship Pub" on Solomon's Lane. You can also find him him at lunch hour on Tuesday's sitting in with the "Auntie Craes Band" (Frank Maher, Stan Pickett, Andrew Lang, Rick West, et. al.) where he is often invited to sing a sing a tune or two (usually bluegrass and country songs) with the "byes" on Water Street.

Ron has also hosted "Back 40" stages at the Ottawa Folk Festival since its beginning in 1993. He has also organized the employee entertainment at two consecutive Public Service Week events in 1999 and 2000, tapping into the hidden musical talent of federal employees to create an impressive line-up of acts.

The highlight of the last few years has been the formation of the Back 40 Band. At the suggestion of Mike Fahey and with his help in the early months, the band has now settled down to a regular group of three members. The Back 40 Band plays traditional Country, Western and a touch of Bluegrass, whenever they can for a variety of audiences from seniors' residences, hospitals, community groups, employee events, service clubs, festivals and at the Back 40 Stage at Rasputins (see "Band" page).

Ron also performs solo on occasion, at benefits and various other concerts, festivals and events, most recently as a headliner at the "Real Country Jam" at the Black Sheep Inn during November, 2005. He has also performed on several occasions at the Lake Doré Jamboree, and at the legendary "Ship Pub" (now the Ship Pub, and at "Auntie Craes" in St.John's Newfoundland, as well as at the Ottawa Valley Music Awards celebrations in Eaganville.

In the fall of 2003, Ron joined the "Atlantic Voices Choir" (The Newfoundland-Labrador Choir of Ottawa) where he was a member until the spring of 2005. In addition to singing songs from Newfoundland, the choir specializes in songs from the maritime provinces and they present two concerts a year. In addition, they play at a variety of events, including "Kiss The Cod", a CJOH benefit for the "Children's Wish Foundation, and at a benefiit for Max Keeping in October, 2004.

Atlantic Voices has recorded several CD's and a patriotic tune written by Ottawa singer-songwriter David Simmonds titled "Together We Are Canada" on behalf of the "Ray Hnatyshyn" Foundation". "Together We Are Canada" has been distributed by the Governor General to Canadian embassies around the world.

Ron Moores is a big supporter of not-for-profit community radio because it gives a voice and ear to facets of our community that disappear in typical commercial station programming. Community radio lets people create a connection to the many unique slices of our community -- ethnic, musical, lifestyle or interests. Ron served on the Board of Directors of CKCU for several years, including as its Chair, helping to restructure the finances and management of the station during a very rocky period in its history.

More recently, beginning in September, 2007, Ron created and began broadcasting a program he calls  "Sounz  Atlantic" on radio station CJHR 98.7 FM (Valley Heritage Radio) that can be found on  the world wide web at www.valleyheritageradio.ca). "Sounz Atlantic" is a two hour program broadcast Sunday mornings from 9 - 11 and features music from artists  who come  from Canada's east coast, including Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince  Edward island and New Brunswick.

Ron also has one great daughter, Stephanie, who recently became a Chartered Accountant and works for the Office of the Auditor General in Ottawa as a proud public servant. She also teaches part-time at Algonquin College in our nation's capitol.

Well - that's a wrap on the guy in the fancy head gear!

Ron Moores

DJ of the Year,
2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 - Central Canadian Bluegrass Awards