Helen E. Weiner Zelkowitz (November 7, 1911 – December 16, 2006) was an American broadcaster, the co-founder of two radio stations, and a member of the

Ohio Women's Hall of Fame The Ohio Women's Hall of Fame was a program the State of Ohio's Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Department of Job and Family Services ran from 1978 through 2011. The Hall has over 400 members. In 2019, the Hall's physical archives a ...

Early years

Zelkowitz was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio.

Broadcasting

On May 26, 1951, Zelkowitz and her husband, Charles, began WMVO-FM, a radio station in Mount Vernon, Ohio. They complemented that station with the launching of

WMVO-AM WMVO (1300 AM) – branded as "Oldies WMVO" – is a commercial oldies radio station licensed to serve Mount Vernon, Ohio. It also operates a translator signal on 100.9 MHz at the same landmark site: "Radio Hill" (at the intersection of Cos ...

in Mount Vernon two years later. In 1972, they expanded their media holdings with the creation of Mount Vernon Cablevision. Zelkowitz was involved with the two stations in a variety of ways, from being president of the business to being sales manager, general manager, and community director. After the creation of Mount Vernon Cablevision, she served as chairperson of the board of the three operations' umbrella organization, Mount Vernon Broadcasting Company. On the air, she was host of the ''Coffee Cup'' program, described as "an intimate daily portrait of Knox County life", for 44 years. She was estimated to have broadcast 11,440 episodes of that program.

Civic activities

In 1977, Zelkowitz was appointed to a three-year term as a member of the Ohio State Newark Campus Citizens Advisory Council. Zelkowitz and her family played a key role in creating the Food for the Hungry Drive in 1981. She also was charter president of the Mount Vernon chapter of

Soroptimist International Soroptimist International (SI) is a global volunteer service organization for women with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries worldwide. According to Soroptimist.org, their mission statement says that, "Soroptimist is a global volunteer organiza ...

. In 2001, Zelkowitz donated $50,000 to

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...

to establish the Zelkowitz Family Kenyon Hillel Endowment Fund to support Jewish studies and Jewish education at the college.

Personal life

She married Charles Zelkowitz on February 13, 1933.

Death

On December 16, 2006, Zelkowitz died at Grant Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, after being injured as a passenger in a single-car accident. She was 95 years old.

Recognition

In 1971, Zelkowitz was recognized by the Hi-O chapter of the

American Women in Radio and Television The Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) is a nonprofit organization created by women in 1951 that works to support women in the media in the United States. About The mission of the organization is to "advance the impact of women in broadcasting a ...

for her contributions to the broadcasting industry. She was also the first recipient of the Woman Broadcaster of the Year from the Ohio Assistant of Broadcasters. In 1997, Zelkowitz became a member of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zelkowitz, Helen 1911 births 2006 deaths American radio DJs American radio executives American women radio presenters People from Columbus, Ohio