Jim and Lee Anne Waldfogle have been tuning in – and supporting – Cincinnati Public Radio and 90.9 WGUC for three decades.
Earlier this year, Cincinnati Public Radio nominated Jim and Lee Anne for the 2023 Voices of Giving honors – and they were recognized as recipients during the award ceremony hosted by the Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council.
WGUC has been a constant in their lives since they first met on March 1, 1993, at a Catholic Alumni Club event.
“We are so thrilled that right here in Cincinnati we have a station that plays classical music 24/7. WGUC is our ‘go to’ station both at home and in the car. The music just lifts us up and makes us whole,” the Waldfogles share.
In March, Jim retired from Burke, Inc. after a 37-year career.
“When we came to the point where we going to make up our will, we looked around and asked, “what organizations mean the most to us?” and WGUC was certainly at, or near the top of, that list,” he states.
Jim and Lee Anne joined the station’s Ransohoff Legacy Society when they shared their decision to include WGUC in their will. Thanks to the Waldfogles’ benevolence, the music and programming on WGUC they love, appreciate and count on will continue and be expanded upon for generations to come.
“Classical music has been a part of my life since I was a child. My mother was a concert pianist in the Bay Area. Everywhere we went, the piano came with us. Music has been a lifeline. I’ve been listening to WGUC since my family moved to Ohio in 1973,” says Lee Anne.
In addition to music, Jim and Lee Anne love the stage. They have acted in many community productions and have served as supernumeraries for several Cincinnati Opera performances. Some favorites include their performances in Oliver, as Fagin and Mrs. Sowerberry, the undertaker’s wife, and in The Nerd, as the Waldgraves. The Waldfogles have appeared in full costume as a Lord and Lady for The Renaissance Festival. They were in The Drama Workshop’s performance of The Sting, which also featured WVXU reporter Bill Rinehart. Jim has been seen as an extra in several locally filmed movies, including Carol and The Public.
“What would you pay to listen to music that you love without commercial interruptions constantly? WGUC is the place to go for that, and if that’s not something that deserves your money, I don’t know what is!” Jim says.
As well as WGUC, Jim and Lee Anne have made a legacy commitment to the League for Animal Welfare, and they are 12-year volunteers for Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired, where they provide voices for radio plays and read headlines.
Congratulations, Jim and Lee Anne, on being honored as 2023 Voices of Giving honorees and thank you for being champions of public radio!
Hear Jim and Lee Anne in their own words:
