LITTLE ROCK — Zipporah Mondy of Helena-West Helena (Phillips County), a junior creative media production major at Arkansas State University, is the 2016 recipient of Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Marvin Vines Memorial Scholarship. The award was announced at the College of Media and Communications Honors Banquet April 14.

Mondy, 29, is the daughter of Elijah and Belinda Mondy. She plans to graduate in Dec. 2017, and has a 3.5 overall grade point average. 

Arkansas Farm Bureau endows the scholarship, which honors the memory of Marvin Vines, farm director for more than 25 years at Little Rock radio station KAAY. Since 1980, it’s been awarded annually to a broadcast major at ASU.

Mondy’s family owns KJIW-FM radio in Helena and she has worked at the station in some capacity since 1997. Her father has more than 40 years of broadcast experience and Zipporah grew up in the business. In 1995 he helped form the MBS Broadcasting Network, which includes KJIW. Since 2002 Mondy has gained experience as host of a live morning program, music director and sales associate.

For the past two years she has also worked for the Helena-West Helena Advertising and Promotion Commission as director of communications, information and sales. 

“I aspire to take my family’s radio business to a new level,” Mondy said. “I plan to build a radio network that holds fast to the old school local and personal radio principles that make the listener feel connected, yet takes advantage of cutting edge technologies. I also want to develop a creative programming team that will effectively communicate to the culture we will be addressing.”

Arkansas Farm Bureau is a nonprofit, private advocacy organization of more than 190,000 families throughout the state working to improve farm and rural life.