Washington, D.C. – Catherine Hughes, founder and chairperson of Radio One, Inc., will receive the Enterprising Washington Woman of the Year 2004 Award from the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) and its Business and Professional Women’s Council on Feb. 4, 2004. For 30 years, Hughes has pioneered an African American radio market built on principles of community and family empowerment.

“The career of Catherine Hughes is an inspiration to all people. Her dedication to mentoring women and minorities in her company is an achievement the women’s museum is proud to honor with this award,” says NMWA Director Judy L. Larson.

The award will be given at a reception in Hughes’ honor on Feb. 4 at 6:30 p.m. at NMWA. Tickets are $125, and requests for invitations may be made to the development office of the women’s museum by calling 202.783.7992. Attendees will also have the opportunity to view the current exhibition
Enterprising Women beginning at 5:30 p.m. The evening is generously sponsored by Legg Mason Funds, Altria Corporate Services, Inc., Brock Capital Management LLC, and Diane Cox Basheer Communities, Inc.

Hughes was born in Omaha, Neb., and moved to Washington, D.C., in 1971 to lecture at Howard University’s School of Communications. In 1973 she became general sales manager at Howard’s radio station WHUR-FM, increasing revenue from $250,000 to $3 million in her first year. Two years later she became the first woman vice president and general manager of WYCB-AM, also in Washington, D.C., and created the most popular nighttime format in urban radio, the “Quiet Storm,” now heard on 400 stations nationwide.

Hughes bought her first station, WOL-AM, in 1980, pioneering a talk format that continues successfully today. Over the next 19 years, she continued to build her broadcast company Radio One, purchasing more stations and working in capacities ranging from managing and sales to hosting her own programs. In 1995, Radio One purchased WKYS in Washington, D.C., for $40 million, the largest transaction in history between two African American owned companies. In 1999 Radio One became the first African American company on the New York Stock Exchange and the first to dominate several markets simultaneously, reaching over 18 million black listeners daily. It is the seventh largest radio broadcasting company in the nation, with 66 stations in 22 markets, and employs more than 1,500 African American broadcasters.

Hughes was selected as one of 40 American women who best exemplifies success in business for the exhibition Enterprising Women: 250 Years of American Business, organized by the Schlesinger Library of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Mass. It is on view at NMWA through Feb. 29 as part of a threWashingtonian magazines, and has been given awards from the Broadcaster’s Foundation, the National Association of Black Owned Businesses, and the National Association of Broadcasters. She currently lives in Baltimore, Md.

About the women’s museum

The National Museum of Women in the Arts, founded in 1981 and opened in 1987, is the only museum dedicated solely to celebrating the achievements of women in the visual, performing, and literary arts. Its permanent collection contains works by more than 800 artists, including Judith Leyster,
Maria Sibylla Merian, Mary Cassatt, Camille Claudel, Georgia O’Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, Elizabeth Catlett,
Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, and Louise Bourgeois. The museum also conducts multidisciplinary programs for diverse audiences, maintains a Library and Research Center, publishes a quarterly magazine, and has organized 27 state committees. Nearly 120,000 people visit the museum each year, including thousands of young people who come with schools and scouting groups. NMWA’s national membership of nearly 40,000 is among the top ten percent of museum memberships nationwide. The museum is located at 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, in a landmark building near the White House. It is open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday noon - 5 p.m. For information call 202.783.5000 or visit the museum’s website, www.nmwa.org.