CHCH News legend Annette Hamm departs from Morning Live after decades on-air

CHCH News legend Annette Hamm has signed off for her last time on Morning Live Friday.

It brings a long, illustrious career to a close, but she’s not fully done just yet.

Things were business as usual at the CHCH Studios Friday, as Hamm expertly carried two mugs into the studio bright and early, but this show was different.

“Well good morning, thanks for joining us on my last show,” said Hamm.

Annette Hamm is hanging up the microphone and retiring.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “I grew up as a farm kid, so I never dreamed I would have this big city career.”

That career began with CHCH News back in 1986. She worked as a writer, a crime reporter, a weekend news anchor and eventually she moved to the morning show desk.

WATCH MORE: Morning Live’s Annette Hamm to retire after nearly 40 years with CHCH

“There’s been lots of exciting things that I have done, and I’m really gonna miss the adrenaline,” said Hamm. “I thought my crime reporter days were my very favourite days, but I also really love the show here.”

For years, people woke up to Hamm’s voice in the morning, through all the ups and downs, good times and silly times.

Hamm is a Hamiltonian through and through: she attended Mohawk College and in 2016 she was given an Alumni of Distinction award — success she credits to her colleagues and her viewers.

“Thank you for sticking with us,” said Hamm.

Now, Hamm has been on TV for a long time, but just for how long exactly?

CHCH News has done the math and let’s just say, it could be a world record.

WATCH MORE: Annette Hamm’s final sign-off

Not including much of her work in the field, Hamm’s total credited on-air hours is around 26,514-and-a-half hours.

Hamm’s husband Daniel took on the immense task of calculating this.

“I always remember Regis Philbin having 17-and-a-half thousand hours of U.S. broadcasting on-air experience and I thought for 40 years, and a lot of it morning based — multiple hours in the morning, she probably has a shot at beating that,” said Daniel.

Those are definitely some big shoes to fill, a task Morning Live reporter Simone Gavros is excited to take on as Hamm’s successor.

“I’m so incredibly excited to start on Monday, this is truly a dream come true for me,” said Gavros. “It’s been so incredible learning from her and seeing how she does everything so gracefully, and learning from such a well-skilled and experienced journalist like herself.”

A sentiment shared by her fellow colleagues.

“Just knowing her impact here, her presence in the community through volunteership — carrying the torch not only for broadcasters, but female broadcasters coming up and wanting to be like her,” said CHCH Morning Live co-host Rick Zamperin. “She is a beacon for so many people who want to get into the industry and have an illustrious career like hers.”

WATCH MORE: Newsmakers: CHCH legend Annette Hamm set to sign off

“I think it’s her brilliance and her wit,” said CHCH Morning Live Adventure Reporter Emily Vukovic. “She’s very smart and she is very captivating, she’s very engaging when she talks and she gets people really invested in the story when she’s telling it.”

“It’s great for Annette, but it’s sad for the rest of us because we have worked with her for so long and we’ve enjoyed working with her for so long — we’ve had so much fun together,” said CHCH Morning Live Weather and Traffic Specialist Brian Wood

After Morning Live ended Friday, Hamm said farewell, shedding a few tears even though she promised she wouldn’t, but she isn’t completely leaving.

“Books are my great love,” said Hamm. “I’m coming back in the fall, very excited for this, I’m doing a podcast and a segment on Morning Live and it’s called ‘Annette’s Book Club’.”

Between that, she plans to travel, stay up late, sleep in for once, and just take it easy.

“Just chillin’,” she says, and well deserved.

READ MORE: Simone Gavros named new co-anchor of CHCH-TV’s Morning Live