Marlena Adkison
It is rare to see one career span 41 years in the same industry. But even rarer that those 41 years would all take place at the same radio station. Marlena did that at KTPK-FM in Topeka.
Her career first began at Kansas State University, serving as the staff announcer and continuity director for KSDB-FM, the student run radio station. Upon graduation from K-State in 1976, she returned to her Topeka roots and began work at KTPK. Through the next 41 years, Marlena served in almost every available capacity, including traffic, news, production, promotions, programming, music director, and on-air personality.
From 1984-1995 she served as half of “Marlena & Lynn in the Morning,” with her counterpart Lynn Higbee. After that and until her retirement in 2017, she served as the midday on-air personality as well as production director. In 2005 she received the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Sonny Slater Award, and in 2008, was inducted into the Kansas Country Music Hall of Fame, an award she shares with artists like Martina McBride and Johnny Western. She also has received multiple Addy Awards for radio commercial production from The Topeka Advertising Federation.
Marlena has served on committees for the United Way of Greater Topeka, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, March of Dimes, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, and the YWCA. Perhaps the most notable of her community work comes in the form of her service to the Helping Hands Humane Society, a local animal care shelter in Topeka. She served on the Board of Directors from 1999-2005 and was on the steering committee for Paws in the Park, an annual event that raises thousands of dollars for the shelter.
She was inducted into the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2017.
Entry: Adkison, Marlena
Author: Kansas Association of Broadcasters
Author information: The Kansas Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame honors those who have worked in broadcasting in Kansas and made substantial contributions to broadcasting, the state, and the nation.
Date Created: October 2017
Date Modified: October 2017
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
