Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 23/06) - George Tuccaro faced a crossroads the night he got thrown in the Whitehorse drunk tank more than a quarter century ago.

He chose the right path. Later this week he will accept the 2006 Aboriginal Achievement Award for his career in media and communications.

George Tuccaro accepts bids at the annual Celebrity Auction at the Explorer Hotel in Yellowknife this past December. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo

The retired CBC broadcaster would never have seen such an honour had he not stared down his demons long ago.

"I have no problems talking about it," he volunteered. "Things weren't going too well. My wife was not very happy with me. My boss was not very happy with me. I wasn't very happy with me. I chose to continue my journalism career and gave up drinking."

Growing up in Fort Chipewyan, a member of the Mikisew Cree First Nation, Tuccaro faced earlier struggles, including six years of residential school in Alberta.

Advice from his father, Victor, helped him achieve his goals and stay motivated when life got tough.

"If you keep looking into the rear view mirror you'll crash," Victor would tell his son.

In retirement, Tuccaro speaks with youth in Northern communities about healing and making healthy choices. He performs volunteer work in prisons, hospitals and seniors homes, bringing compassion or comedy depending on the situation.

"Laughter is a big, big, big healer for me," he said. "If they've had a good laugh and forgot about the daily grind and their trials and tribulations then that's a gift."

Tuccaro received the Governor General's Canada 125 Medal, among other honours, for his volunteer and humanitarian work in the NWT.

"Being able to connect with the communities helped with journalism," he said.

Tuccaro began working with the CBC radio in 1971. He hosted Gather 'Round, a request show. From there he went on to an afternoon program, the news program and Mackenzie Morning.

"I did not have a journalism degree," he said. "I was good at mimicking and emulating what other people were doing."

He immersed himself in the communities, having fun doing play-by-play for amateur hockey and softball.

A stint in television lasted for a little more than a year in the late 1990s when he anchored CBC Northbeat.

"What made it easy for me to retire early was that 30 years ago I was saying that somebody had to get off stage so I can could get on," he said. "Well, I had to get off stage so somebody else could get on."

The CBC ran a week-long schedule of tribute programming as he retired.

Among his career highlights was an international award-winning radio documentary he produced on teenage suicide in the North.

Beyond broadcasting, he also established an NWT booking agency of Northern performing artists and assisted in organizing the Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuvik.

Tuccaro is remembered for ending his broadcasts with the signature line: "Don't forget to check the date on your bacon."

"If I said 'have a wonderful evening?' would anybody remember that?," he said.

Tuccaro looks forward to receiving the award this month. "I accept it on behalf of those people who are equally worthy of getting this award but sometimes don't get mentioned," he said.

The Saturday, Jan. 28, awards ceremony will be broadcast on APTN and Global TV.

Now an independent communications consultant, Tuccaro lives in Yellowknife with Marilyn, his wife of 33 years. His son Daryl Tuccaro and daughter-in-law Amanda and granddaughter Mikaela Rose also live in the capital.