A familiar voice will be at the helm of Daybreak Kamloops when the latest CBC bureau hits the air Oct. 9.

After six years as a correspondent for CBC Kelowna, Shelley Joyce was announced Monday as host of the local morning show.

She joins producer Rob Polson, news anchor/reporter Doug Herbert and associate producer Josh Pagee at the office/studio at 218 Victoria St.

With less than a month to go until launch, the four are hard at work planning programming that will be unique to the city yet fit the CBC model of news, documentaries and entertainment.

"It's absolutely thrilling actually," Joyce told The Daily News on Monday. "It's something really new for Kamloops and an audience that has been waiting a long time for this."

Joyce, a 17-year Kamloops resident, is no stranger to the radio or the news. In addition to CBC Kelowna, she's hosted programs in Victoria and Vancouver and has written for The Winnipeg Sun, Today's Parent and the Vancouver Province.

Her stories with the CBC have appeared on national radio programs like The Current and The Story From Here.

The four-person bureau was first announced last year as part of the Crown corporation's commitment to upgrade regional service, but doubt was cast over the plans when significant financial cuts were brought down in the federal budget in March.

In April, the CBC said its move into Kamloops would be delayed six months in the face of staff cuts and other changes, including closure of some foreign bureaus.

Polson said there was never any intention of not moving ahead with the Kamloops bureau. The CBC's 2015 Initiative calls for expansion into smaller markets and Kamloops is one of the first ones out of the gate.

He said CBC Kamloops will use programming from Kelowna and Vancouver, but content for the morning show - which broadcasts from 6 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. - will be all Kamloops, with Herbert delivering news on the half hour.

"The thing that will set it apart is our focus on newsmakers and news from here," said Polson.

The first show on Oct. 9 will be a grand-opening celebration at the bureau. Joyce expects a number of local personalities will drop by, along with CBC fans who have been eager for the station to open.

Daybreak Kamloops will launch its regular format the following day. The station will broadcast at 94.1 FM, where local listeners currently hear CBC Kelowna.

For more information, go online to cbc.ca/kamloops.