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Tony Petkovsek
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Tony Petkovsek has been on daily polka radio since 1961, an unprecedented 40 years. His popular music and community service show, which he produces and announces, is interspersed with interviews of civic, travel and entertainment personalities and is heard for two hours, Monday thru Friday from 3 till 5 P.M and Saturday from Noon till 2 P.M on WELW-1330AM. For some 30 years the programs have been done on location at the former Tony's Polka Village (which he operated for 20 years) and now at the Polka Tour Headquarters of Kollander World Travel at 971 East 185 Street in the. polka capital of Cleveland. He was previously on WXEN, WZAK, WBOE, and WCPN, and has interviewed political leaders of the U.S. as well as Slovenia; national news correspondents like Charles Kuralt and Roger Mudd; plus national and local polka and ethnic music personalities such as Bobby Vinton and Slovenia's Lojze Slak and Slavko Avsenik. In October 1998 he delivered the main eulogy for America's Polka King, Frankie Yankovic, at the time of his passing.
As Vice President and co-owner of Kollander World Travel, Tony Petkovsek originated the very first polka and music tour almost thirty-five years ago in 1967, and has hosted and or arranged for thousands of polka fans on nearly every continent and at sea and has been known from Alaska, Hawaii, and Europe to South America, the Caribbean and even Australia, as Cleveland's Polka Ambassador. The Hawaiian Polka Cruise 2001 had over 300 people and the Slovenian Home tour in August marks over 40 visits to Slovenia for Tony.
Tony also helped to establish the United Slovenian Society (USS) of greater Cleveland and the USS Concert Band from the original Slak concert committee, having served for many years as its president plus organized the volunteer booster group, his own Cleveland Slovenian Radio Club. Over the years many community projects were established including the raising of a couple hundred thousand dollars through "Radiothons" for the Slovene Home for the Aged; and some $30,000 when Slovenia was seeking independence in 1991. Tony and the Radio Club committee has sponsored Thanksgiving festival weekend events since 1963 at St. Clair Slovenian Home, St. Joseph High School and for the last decade at the Marriott Hotel at Key Center in downtown Cleveland, attracting thousands of fans from over 20 states, Canada, and Europe as the premier Cleveland Slovenian-style polka event marking the radio program's anniversary date.
In 1987 Tony called the initial meeting that eventually formed the American Slovenian Polka Foundation, sponsors of the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame, where he has served as chairman ever since and was enshrined by popular vote as a Lifetime Achiever in 1992. There are some 1,500 members currently.
As a leader of the East 185th Street business district, Tony initiated the annual "Old World Festival" 23 years ago, which has become the largest and most popular event of its kind in all of greater Cleveland every August. As a volunteer he serves on the board of the neighborhood Northeast Shores Development Corporation and was appointed by both Mayor Voinovich and White to serve weekly on the city of Cleveland's Board of Zoning appeals as a long time North Collinwood businessman and resident.
Tony has been awarded well over 100 proclamations and plaques from international, national, state, county and city representatives and organizations for his contributions to the community and his exemplary volunteerism over the years. Thirty-four years ago in 1967, at age 25 he was the youngest recipient ever of the Slovenian Man of the Year award. presented by the Federation of Slovenian Homes in Cleveland. In 1991 he was inducted into the National Broadcasters Hall Fame in Akron, and is a Hall of Famer of St. Vitus and St. Joseph High School. His Collinwood area neighbor and longtime friend, US Senator George V. Voinovich, called on Tony to emcee his gubernatorial inaugural programs, the State Fair multi-cultural programs, and he has also served on the Ohio Arts Council in Columbus. In July, 2001 for the Senator's 65th birthday, he emceed the program at the Cleveland Convention Center and introduced TV Star Drew Carey.
Tony has the distinction of hosting the longest running polka and nationality program with his own sponsors, with weekend co-host Joey Tomsick and feature reporters Alice Kuhar, Duke Marsic and Patty Sluga. He is Vice President and owner of WELW radio along with Ray Somich. He invested his dad's estate in the station to memorialize his dad and guarantee polkas a place on radio and now on the internet.
Tony Petkovsek considers his "family" as those associated directly with him plus the thousands who have followed his promotions and good will these many years.
...contact Tony Petkovsek by email at tonyp@welw.com
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