Broadcasting legend Darrel Janz signing off from the anchor chair for the last time

After 40 years, Calgarians have their last chance to see a broadcasting legend read the evening news.

CTV’s longtime anchor Darrel Janz will step away from the anchor desk after his final show Sunday night, wrapping up 40 years in Calgary, the last three years as a weekend anchor.

He will stay on for his Inspired series and may step in if the channel needs him from time to time, so he won’t be completely ending his 50-year career.

He’s received a ton of well wishes, including a special one from his former colleague Barb Higgins, in an email from Arizona Sunday morning.

He has a simple message to the public and his colleagues from over the years.

“Thank you for trusting me, for watching, for allowing me to come into your homes,” he said. “Five days a week for 37 years and then weekends for the past three here in Calgary and for 50 years across the country.”

Speaking of those 50 years, he said he’s most proud of his work in 1995 when he traveled over to Serbia and Croatia, near the end of the region’s war and doing a documentary on Operation Christmas Child.

“Seeing the joy that it brought to those kids who had been through four and a half years of hell in the war and many were in refugee towns and schools and so that was the most memorable of all the things I’ve been personally involved with,” he said, adding another major highlight was covering Calgary’s successful bid for the Olympics.

When he wasn’t in the anchor chair, he also taught for almost 27 years, first at SAIT and over 15 at Mount Royal University, pushing his students to be themselves, be natural and to talk and write like you talk.

As for his final show, Janz said there’s a chance he may get a little teary-eyed.

“I come from very emotional bloodlines and so we’ll see,” he said. “I had a wonderful email from Barb today and probably just as well that it came this morning because that was a bit emotional hearing from her.”