WVAS Local

Althea Gibson honored

WVAS | By Melanie Hogan

Published August 29, 2025 at 8:18 PM EDT

Althea Gibson is front and center at the U.S. Open this year on the 75th anniversary of her breaking the color barrier in tennis. The logo for the Grand Slam tournament is of her profile as designed by the first Black woman responsible for the U.S. Open’s feature art.

Clips of Gibson playing at what was then known as the U.S. Nationals flash across screens inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, and a tribute narrated by Venus Williams is part of the soundtrack during breaks. Gibson's story is also a complicated one, given her fight to get in and a life afterward that ended more than two decades ago without the money or legacy to show for it.

WVAS Local

Melanie Hogan

Melanie began her career as a work study student, working in the areas of news reporting, anchoring and news-gathering. After graduating from Alabama State University, she worked as a production assistant at the local NBC affiliate, WSFA-TV. As a News Director at WVAS-FM, Melanie leads her team to produce award- winning newscasts and talk shows. Her professional achievements includes News Reporter of the Year for a number of years and awards for talk show producer, by the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. She is an active member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. Her goals are to expand the reach of WVAS FM into more homes locally, regionally and nationally.

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