Year Born: 1941
Year Died: 2019
Year of Induction: 1996
Member of CAB Hall of Fame
McLean, Jessie (1941- )
In four decades, Jessie McLean was employed by only two broadcasting organizations, but in that time, she worked for hundreds of broadcasters.
Jessie was hired in May 1960 by George Cromwell, General Manager of New Brunswick Broadcasting Co Ltd of Saint John, New Brunswick, the company that founded CHSJ-Radio and CHSJ-TV. Her first job was “Accounts Receivable”, but before she left Saint John for the nation’s capital 12 years later, she was the Supervisor of the Accounting Department.
In April 1972, Jessie McLean was hired by Jim Allard for the position of “Accountant” with the Canadian Association of Broadcasters in Ottawa. Then, it was a one-person operation, handling all of the duties she had in Saint John, plus all banking transactions, investments and the preparation of budgets. On top of these responsibilities, she took on several of the tasks related to the CAB’s Annual Conventions.
In June, 1978, Jessie was named by the CAB as Director, Administrative Services – responsible for the supervision of a general office staff now totaling fifteen. co-ordination of the twice-monthly membership mailings, maintenance of membership in the CAB and “recognition” by the CAB of advertising agencies.
It was during this era that Jessie became involved with the CAB’s Quarter/Half-Century Club which had been established in 1951 to recognize pioneering and long-term broadcasters with CAB-member stations. Jessie, herself, achieved her membership in the Club in 1985. From 1980 to 1995, she also served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Communications Foundation, a non-profit foundation established by the CAB to chronicle, document and otherwise preserve the history of broadcasting in Canada. This biography appears on the CCF’s website.
In 1982, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters named Jessie McLean to the post of Director of Finance/Administration, a position she held until retirement in 1997.
In 1996, Jessie McLean was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame.
Written by J. Lyman Potts – January, 1997