In September, 1955, CFOR increased its power from 1,000 to 10,000 watts. At the same time Bob Hope was appearing at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. Gord Smith took a bold chance and asked the famed movie star and comedian if he would appear in Orillia to push the button to increase CFOR's power. He readily agreed but wanted to drive his family up to the station and make a day of it.