It was in two grocery-store aisles north of Montreal a dozen or so years ago that Pierre Houde truly learned his impact on listeners.
The hugely popular French-language voice of the Montreal Canadiens is still looking for the words to express his appreciation for being named recipient of the 2024 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award.
Named for the hockey broadcast pioneer, the Hewitt Award has since 1984 been presented annually by the Hockey Hall of Fame, selected by the NHL Broadcasters Association, to a member of the radio and television industry who has made outstanding contributions to their business and the game.
A broadcaster for a half-century, Houde has called Canadiens games on French-language RDS since 1989, when the network acquired the team’s television rights. Some 3,500 hockey games into his career, by his estimate, his voice is one of the most recognizable in his native province, Catholicism and the Canadiens -- perhaps even in that order -- regarded as Quebec’s two most important religions.
But it was away from the microphone that Houde recalls a moment that will forever be burned into his heart.
“I was on the phone in a grocery store, near a woman with her young son in her basket,” Houde said. “She walked by and when my call was finished, she came back to ask, ‘Are you Pierre Houde? I don’t know you but my son knows your voice.’”
Houde is often recognized for his baritone, so for the moment, this greeting wasn’t uncommon. He was pleased to stop, thankful for a mother’s kindness.