December 25, 2013

Six to Stay on National VOA Museum of Broadcasting Board

Six members of the 19-member National VOA Museum of Broadcasting’s board of directors have renewed their terms in order to continue work on developing the museum.  Ken Rieser; Patti Alderson; Jay Adrick; Susan Redman-Rengstorf; David Snyder; and Greg Stevens will stay on the board and serve  additional three-year  terms.  “We have made a tremendous amount of progress this year and look forward to making some great inroads in 2014,” said Ken Rieser, VOA Museum board chair. “Everyone is very excited about the momentum we are building.”  

The museum selected a Jack Dominic, CET station manager, as museum director last month. Dominic will begin work on March 1, 2014.  Rieser is past president of the West Chester Rotary Club. He is retired from Armco Steel Corp.  Alderson is board chair and CEO of the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty.  She has won a number of leadership awards, including the 2004 Cincinnati Enquirer’s “Women of the Year.”  Adrick is a 49-year veteran of the broadcast industry and an internationally recognized leader in the design and integration of digital broadcasting systems.  Rengstorf is regional chief development officer for the American Red Cross and a former director of the Cincinnati Ballet.  She was also vice president of development and external affairs for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.  Snyder is an engineering manager and was the last transmitter plant supervisor for the VOA Bethany Station. He is also a board member of the Jack Gray History of Wireless Museum at the VOA museum.  Stevens is a wealth manager for UBS Financial Services and past president of the National VOA Museum of Broadcasting board of directors. The rest of the board, whose terms are not expiring, include: Terry S. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of The JFP Group, LLC ; Chris Wunnenberg, development director ofSchumacher Dugan Construction, LLC; James  L. Jaeger , mechanical engineer and co-founder of  Cincinnati Microwave;  Melinda Zemper, president of Oak Tree Communications, LLC; Mark Hecquet, executive director of the Butler County Visitors Bureau; Clyde Haehnle, retired vice president and director of Avco Broadcasting Corp.; Jeffrey P. Monroe,  aeronautical engineer and small business owner in West Chester; Clifford Perry, retired General Motors senior quality engineer; Gary West,  co-owner of GW Associates; Mike Martini,  award-winning radio announcer and WMKV-FM radio host; Bob White, owner  of the Robert White Company; and Sara Straight Wolf, attorney. Dominic will also be a board member.  

The exterior of the iconic WWII era building on Tylersville Road in West Chester has been restored and now looks much as it did in 1944, when it was constructed to house one of the most powerful and influential radio transmitters in the free world.   The National VOA Museum of Broadcasting contains exhibits featuring the Voice of America at the VOA-Bethany station; Media Heritage’s Greater Cincinnati Museum of Broadcast History; the Gray History of Wireless Museum; and the West Chester Amateur Radio Assn. 

The VOA museum, 8070 Tylersville Road, will be open Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013 from 1 to 4 p.m.     Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children under 12. For more information about VOA museums, go to www.voamuseum.org.  The museum is implementing a docent program and seeks volunteers to learn about the museums and help lead tours. Those wishing to join the VOA Museum docent family can contact Dave Snyder at DavidSnyde@aol.com.

JACK DOMINIC NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF VOA MUSEUM

November 11, 2013

National VOA Museum of Broadcasting Names Executive Director.  Retiring WCET VP and Station Manager Jack Dominic Selected

    

John T. (Jack) Dominic, retiring WCET station manager, has been named executive director of the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester. 

Dominic, 67, has a 38-year career in broadcasting at CET, Cincinnati Public Television, and was instrumental in the recent consolidation of CET in Cincinnati and ThinkTV in Dayton.  He will retire as CET executive vice president and station manager in February of 2014 and begin work at the VOA museum on March 1, 2014.

”Jack brings a broad experience in the nonprofit sector as well as outstanding broadcast industry knowledge,” said Ken Rieser, VOA museum board chairman.  “He helped CET develop technical and programmatic excellence.  He also worked for several years developing public TV projects at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, so he is no stranger to the operation of a museum.”

Before joining CET in 1977, he worked for the American National Red Cross Cincinnati Division and on several United Way Campaigns in Cincinnati.  He will continue to be involved in local organizations, including the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce and on the Starling Orchestra board of directors.  He has served as adjunct professor at Northern Kentucky University and plans to teach in the eMedia Division of the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music.

The VOA museum has made significant progress toward its evolution into a world class museum.  The exterior of the iconic WWII era building on Tylersville Road has been restored and now looks much like it did in 1944, when it was constructed to house one of the most powerful and influential radio transmitters in the free world.  Daily news and cultural broadcasts were transmitted from the VOA-Bethany station during World War II and throughout the Cold War, ending in 1994, when the station was decommissioned by the federal government.  For millions of people in totalitarian states and democracies at risk worldwide, VOA news was the only news source for unbiased reporting.

”The role that this facility and its innovative technicians from Crosley and Avco Broadcasting played in world politics and the advancement of freedom and democracy cannot be overstated,” said Dominic.  “The museum also highlights the extraordinary contributions Cincinnati played in the development of broadcasting in this country and around the world. This is truly a compelling and important story, one I’m eager to help tell.  Electronic media with roots in southwest Ohio has had a massive impact on world affairs.”

The National VOA Museum of Broadcasting contains exhibits featuring the Voice of America at the VOA-Bethany station; Media Heritage’s Greater Cincinnati Museum of Broadcast History; the Gray History of Wireless Museum; and the West Chester Amateur Radio Assn.  The museums are open from 1 to 4 p.m. every third Saturday of the month.

RUTH LYONS MEMORABILIA ADDED TO MEDIA HERITAGE TV COLLECTION

October 17, 2013

Ruth Lyons Memorabilia Added to Media Heritage TV Collection

National VOA Museum Open Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013

Personal memorabilia from Cincinnati’s own Ruth Lyons have been added to the Media Heritage collection at the National Voice of American Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester.  

In the 1990s, local collectors David and Joanne Kikly acquired three boxes of Lyons’ memorabilia at Lyons’ estate sale. Lyons died in 1988. She was a gifted pianist, songwriter and a pioneer radio and television broadcaster in Cincinnati from the late 1920s through 1960s  Her 50/50 Club started on WLW radio in 1949 as The 50 Club: a group of 50 women invited to a daily one-hour lunch, which was broadcast live. The show was renamed the 50/50 Club in 1955 when 100 women were added. The show was very popular throughout the Midwest and guests included national celebrities like Bob Hope, Arthur Godfrey, Peter Nero and Pearl Bailey.

This summer, a donation from Harold Dunlap allowed Media Heritage to acquire the collection.  Among the photos, awards, personal notes and letters belonging to Lyons and her family were two pages removed from the 50/50 Club celebrity autograph books.  The Cincinnati Historical Society owns the autograph books. Every celebrity who appeared on her popular 1950s TV program signed a page in one of the five scrapbooks.  “The two missing pages were accounted for on the cover of one of the books in Ruth’s own handwriting,” said Mike Martini, Media Heritage president. “They said, ‘Peter Nero—first appearance 4/20/61 and Troy Donahue with Candy.  Probably Candy’s most memorable appearance with her mother on TV.’  It seems Candy, Ruth’s teenage daughter, had crush on actor Troy Donahue and asked her mother for the pages.”  The missing pages have been donated to the Cincinnati Historical Society for inclusion back in the scrapbook for the first time in 52 years, said Martini.   

 

Mike Martini, Scott Gampfer (CHS) , David Kikly, Joanne Kikly

The National VOA Museum of Broadcasting contains exhibits featuring the Voice of America at the VOA-Bethany station; Media Heritage’s Greater Cincinnati Museum of Broadcast History; the Gray History of Wireless Museum; and the West Chester Amateur Radio Assn.       

The VOA museum will be open Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the historic VOA-Bethany station building at 8070 Tylersville Road in West Chester.   Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children under 12. For more information about VOA museums, go to www.voamuseum.org . 

AWARD WINNING GERMAN RADIO DISPLAY AT VOA MUSEUM

October 14, 2013

DISPLAY AT THE MUSEUM WINS NATIONAL AWARD

A display of World War II German radio receivers created by Bob Sands of the Gray History of Wireless Museum won “Best of Show” and “Best Historical Display” at the Antique Radio Club of Illinois Radiofest 2013.  The display features three receivers personally owned by Bob.

The first is the Volksemphanger VE301 Dyn receiver, a three-tube medium- and long-wave receiver that was subsidized by the third reich so that the common family could afford a radio receiver.  Of course, they heard only Hitler’s propaganda.  Fifteen million of these were produced over a twelve year period.

The second is the four-tube Olympia Sachenwerk 384W in a fine wood cabinet, once again only capable of medium- and long-wave reception. This was considered a piece of furniture by those who could afford a decorative receiver.

The third receiver is the Siemens K32GVB which was issued to officers of the Luftwaffe to build troop moral.  This radio was capable of both battery and AC power operation.  In addition to long- and medium-wave this radio was also capable of short-wave reception.  This radio was more sensitive than the others as officers could be stationed in remote places. However, officers were permitted to listen to only approved stations.

These three receivers demonstrate how German citizens were allowed to listen to only radio programming originating in Germany.  The Voice of America was created in 1942 to counteract Hitler’s propaganda with the truth. The display can be viewed in the Gray History of Wireless area during open house days, the third Saturday of each month.

September 30, 2013

JROTC STUDENTS VISIT VOA MUSEUM

On September 21, 2013, 52 JROTC students from the Cleveland area toured the VOA Museum.  They are pictured viewing the VOA museum video.

(Photo by David Snyder)

September 28, 2013

LAKOTA ELEMENTARY STUDENTS TOUR THE MUSEUMS

125 elementary students from Lakota Schools toured the museums in May.  Pictured are Bob Sands in the Gray History of Wireless Museum and David Snyder in the VOA Control Room.

September 28, 2013

West Chester Attorney joins VOA Museum Board

Attorney Sara Straight Wolf of West Chester has joined the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting’s board of directors.

Wolf is with Cors & Bassett, LLC, a law firm in downtown Cincinnati. She received her law degree from the University Of Cincinnati College of Law in 1976, where she was articles editor of the University of Cincinnati Law Review. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Miami University in 1969.

Wolf focuses in the areas of business, computer and technology law, including internet matters, and franchise, trademark, copyright law and employment law.
She has been selected for the publication Super Lawyers, a rating service for outstanding lawyers, from 2010 through 2013.

Her civic and volunteer activities include serving as member and past president of the board of Community First Services. She has been president of the board for the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati; chairman of the board for Colonial Services, Inc.; and board member of Fort Hamilton Healthcare Corporation; Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati; and Animal Friends Humane Society. She was a member of Class V of Leadership Hamilton and is a former member of Rotary Club of West Chester/Liberty. She lives in West Chester with her husband, Myron A. Wolf, who practices law in Hamilton. The Wolfs have two sons, who live in Chicago and Los Angeles.

“Sara is a talented business attorney and we are very happy to have her enthusiasm and skill set,” said Ken Rieser, museum board president. “She is a great addition to the board talent we have in place to further develop the museum.”

The National VOA Museum of Broadcasting contains exhibits featuring the Voice of America at the VOA-Bethany station; Media Heritage’s Greater Cincinnati Museum of Broadcast History; the Gray History of Wireless Museum; and the West Chester Amateur Radio Assn .

The VOA museum will be open this Saturday, Sept. 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the historic VOA-Bethany station building at 8070 Tylersville Road in West Chester. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children under 12.

For more information about VOA museums, go to www.voamuseum.org . View the website’s Telly Award-winning video narrated by Cincinnati journalist and former anchorman and TV host Nick Clooney.

The museum is implementing a docent program and seeks volunteers to learn about the museums and help lead tours. Those wishing to join the VOA Museum docent family can contact Dave Snyder at DavidSnyde@aol.com