congressional_record: CREC-2002-11-22-pt1-PgE2137-4
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| granule_id | date | congress | session | volume | issue | title | chamber | granule_class | sub_granule_class | page_start | page_end | speakers | bills | citation | full_text |
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| CREC-2002-11-22-pt1-PgE2137-4 | 2002-11-22 | 107 | 2 | HONORING VIRGINIA GAINES FOX | HOUSE | EXTENSIONS | HONORING | E2137 | E2138 | [{"name": "Ernie Fletcher", "role": "speaking"}] | 148 Cong. Rec. E2137 | Congressional Record, Volume 148 Issue 152 (Friday, November 22, 2002) [Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 152 (Friday, November 22, 2002)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E2137-E2138] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] HONORING VIRGINIA GAINES FOX ______ HON. ERNIE FLETCHER of kentucky in the house of representatives Friday, November 22, 2002 Mr. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, It is an honor to rise today to pay tribute to a trailblazer, a visionary, a dedicated public servant, and a Kentucky original. I speak of the inimitable Virginia Gaines Fox, president and CEO of Kentucky Educational Television, who is retiring next month after 42 years of service in public broadcasting. Virginia Fox--or Ginni, as she is known by her friends and colleagues--has created a legacy of innovation, public service and the highest standards of excellence. Under her astute leadership, she has built KET into an industry leader. Kentucky Educational Television is the number one provider of adult education in America, providing thousands of broadcast hours of instructional programming to classrooms and hundreds of hours of professional [[Page E2138]] development resources to Kentucky's K-12 instructors. KET's GED on TV program has helped 11,400 adults in Kentucky--and literally millions more across the country--to earn their high school diploma. KET is also leading the way in the industry's digital conversion, pioneering datacasting services for Kentucky communities in partnership with Federal, State and local agencies--particularly in the area of public safety, weather alerts, and homeland security. This initiative is serving as a model for similar efforts around the country. Virginia Fox has been an innovator in distance learning throughout her prestigious career. She was a founding member of the congressionally-created Independent Television Service (ITVS) Board and created the first national ITV satellite schedule, serving more than 23 million students annually with distance learning curricula. She also founded the Satellite Educational Resources Consortium, the first public broadcasting/Department of Education interstate consortium for distance learning. Virginia Fox's career is highlighted by numerous personal as well as professional accomplishments. She broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first female CEO of a national organization in public broadcasting. She has served on the board of the Public Broadcasting Service and chaired the Public Television Outreach Alliance. She received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Morehead State University, and earlier was named Appalachian Woman of the Year by that same institution. This year, she was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame and received the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Lifetime Achievement Award. A seventh-generation Kentuckian, Virginia Fox proves once again that the great Commonwealth of Kentucky has an abundance of human resources. It has been my privilege to work with her during my tenure in Congress to ensure that America's children will continue to benefit from the finest educational programming available, and that they will enter formal schooling ``Ready to Learn''. She has demonstrated the power of television to educate, inform and inspire. Mr. Speaker, the education of our children is one of our greatest responsibilities. Virginia Gaines Fox must be commended for her innovation, her vision, and her dedication to education. Her leadership will be sorely missed, but her retirement is richly deserved, and we wish her the very best that life has to offer. ____________________ |