Bruce and Boomer enjoying next chapter in life

Kevin “Boomer” Gallant used to own 74 Hawaiian shirts. Now he has 12.

Call it a casualty of retirement.

P.E.I.’s most recognizable voice has been off the air for nine months, and he’s enjoying the change of pace.

Following a 31-year career providing the weather on CBC News: Compass, Gallant has taken up biking and goes to the gym four or five times a week.

“I started to eat healthier, less beer in the evenings, lost a few pounds and I feel like a million bucks.”

Gallant logged over 3,000 kilometres on the Confederation Trail last year.

“I have a pretty good attitude about life and I think that helps me get through every day. People ask me what I'm doing and I just tell them, whatever I want to do that day.”

Gallant and Compass anchor Bruce Rainnie both left the show last April. Rainnie had occupied the anchor’s chair for more than 13 years before being hired as president and CEO of the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame.

The timing of Rainnie’s departure led Gallant to follow suit.

“I was sort of preparing for retirement for about a year. When Bruce got the job offer in Halifax, I said, ‘I'm going to go too, let's go together.’ It's been great.”

Meanwhile, for Rainnie, running the Hall of Fame was an appealing option.

“This job would never have come around again in my working lifetime, so I had to explore it. Every day I get to immerse myself in sports stories and sports heroes. That’s a good gig. It’s a good way to spend the next 15 years, if I can pull it off.”

When Rainnie was hired by CBC in 2003, the pair developed a bond on and off the air that made P.E.I.’s supper-hour news must-watch television.

Maureen Martin of Tryon was an instant fan.

“I thought they were wonderful. I miss the both of them.”

The rapid-fire humour made Compass a staple of the supper hour, Martin said.

“It was just a pleasant show to watch. They were always joking with each other. They both seemed quite knowledgeable about what they were doing – just look where Bruce has got himself today. He’s quite smart. It was a very enjoyable hour at suppertime.”

Covering provincial elections was one of the best parts of the job, Rainnie said. He anchored CBC’s coverage of the 2007, 2011 and 2015 results.

“There are very few things that can match the electricity of a live election night on P.E.I. I’ve always been a political junkie. I always describe those as drama without a script.”

Rainnie was in his element flying by the seat of his pants.

“You had to be ready to make those numbers make sense. I loved those nights.

“I thought they were really challenging and energizing and a real test of what I think a broadcaster should be, and that’s someone who can make sense of things on the fly as they’re coming in.”

Anchoring Compass had special meaning for Rainnie.

“There was a daily feeling that what you were doing meant something. It’s a good feeling to know the work you did that day was going to be watched and valued.”

Still, there was an upside to leaving.

“I do not miss putting on makeup. I do not miss having to find a shirt and tie every day I didn’t wear the night before,” he laughed.

As for Gallant, the future is wide open and he plans to spend time with his son, daughter and granddaughter.

“I’m just looking forward to every day ahead with those people. We’re into February, so I’ll soon have the bike out, the shorts and Hawaiian shirts, and away we go again.”