With the recent completion of some significant construction work, the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting reopened for tours last month and will continue provide another opportunity for the public to tour the West Chester landmark this Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m.
Unique to the tours this Saturday will be the visit from longtime radio announcer Don Herman, who is celebrating his 51st year in Cincinnati this month.
Don Herman at WCKY. Photo provided.
Herman started in radio in 1947, at a station in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he was a staff announcer and disc jockey. He came to WCKY in Cincinnati in 1961 as a news host and announcer. While with WCKY, Herman covered the Hoffa Cincinnati teamsters debate, the Kennedy assassination and the 1974 tornadoes.
When the station switched call letters and formats in 1994 to Oldies WSAI, Herman enjoyed the unique status of having worked on the same AM frequency—1530—for 37 years. That frequency later switched back to WCKY and is now a sports station.
The public tours of VOA are expected to take place on the third Saturday of each month from 1 to 4 p.m. Donations of $5 for adults and $1 for children under 12 are suggested.
The museum’s board chairman Ken Rieser said the group hopes to kick off its fundraising efforts this year in order to make the historical venue a revenue-generating landmark for years to come.
If and when the fundraising is completed, early estimates show that it needs to raise approximately $12 million, the museum is expected to attract 25,000 visitors, bring in $475,000 in out of area direct spending and provide an overall economic impact in excess of $1.7 million annually, according to estimates by museum design firm Jack Rouse Associates.
The National VOA Museum of Broadcasting consists of 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 Association control room.
For more information about VOA museums, go to www.voamuseum.org.
The museum is located at 8070 Tylersville Road in West Chester.
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