CHIN Achievement - CHIN RADIO has been awarded the Canadian Music Industry Award for six consecutive years. The category was started in 1999, and CHIN Radio has won each year, competing against several multicultural radio stations across Canada.

In l974 CHIN decided to reach out through the medium of television to complement and extend what was being done on radio. For more than three decades cultural communities have enjoyed weekend multi-language television programming produced by CHIN Radio/TV International. CHIN now broadcasts 10 hours of programming each weekend on CITY-TV Cable 7.

The establishment of the most extensive multicultural/multilingual broadcasting radio station in Canada has not been an easy task. The seed that is now CHIN germinated more than 50 years ago when its President and Chairman of the Board, Johnny Lombardi, returned to Canada after four years of active service with the Canadian Army during World War II and established a grocery business in the midtown area of Toronto known as "Little Italy," of which Johnny was later to become known as the "unofficial mayor." Recognizing the value of radio, Johnny purchased radio programming time on English radio stations. He promoted his and other Italian businesses, and the Italian music and information radio shows were well received by the thousands of new Canadians who were pouring into southern Ontario from distant homelands.

A Dream Came True - In the years to come, however, Johnny Lombardi found his program shunted from station to station according to the mandates of English radio station programmers and owners who did not share his dedication to the rapidly growing multicultural community. He dreamed of establishing a radio station which would serve all the cultural groups which make up Canada's mosaic society.

In l966 Johnny's dream came true, and he won his license to broadcast on CHIN AM1540. But the fight to establish a truly multicultural/multilingual broadcasting operation had just begun. Johnny's partners in the new radio operation were not in agreement with his multicultural format. The disagreement amongst he and his partners on programming direction - English mainstream vs ethnic broadcasting - led the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to revoke the station's license due to the inability of the partners to settle their differences. Johnny decided to go it alone and reapplied for the radio license on his own. His licence was granted, and he bought out his former partners, gaining total and absolute control over the future programming policies of CHIN.