[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 47 (Tuesday, April 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO DAVE McELHATTON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 3, 2001

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me today in 
paying tribute to a most beloved and enduring San Francisco Bay Area 
icon--Dave McElhatton of KPIX Channel 5 television and KCBS radio. His 
distinguished 50-year career in broadcast journalism is being 
celebrated at an extraordinary tribute dinner at the Palace Hotel in 
San Francisco on April 21, 2001, for the benefit of his alma mater, San 
Francisco State University.
  David McElhatton, who was born and raised in Oakland, California, 
enrolled at San Francisco on the G.I. bill in 1948, following service 
in the U.S. Army. Only two weeks after graduating with a degree in 
Broadcast & Electronic Communication Arts, Dave was employed at KCBS 
radio. He quickly became a prominent radio personality in the Bay Area. 
His first introduction to Bay Area radio listeners was as the host of 
KCBS's ``Music 'Til Dawn'' and ``Masters of Melody''--the last live 
network music program to originate from San Francisco. He hosted the 
Bay Area's first call-in talk show, ``Viewpoint'' and the last local 
audience-participation radio program, ``McElhatton in the Morning.'' As 
KCBS' morning anchor for a quarter century, Dave became one of the Bay 
Area's best known and best regarded radio personalities, and he was 
instrumental in developing the KCBS News/Radio format.
  For the second quarter century of his career in broadcast journalism, 
Dave McElhatton was at the helm of Channel 5 Eyewitness News, where his 
credibility and affability made it easy for him to move seamlessly from 
radio to television. His superior journalistic skills and his excellent 
delivery led to a distinguished television news career marked by a 
multitude of journalistic awards and a multitude of faithful viewers.
  Dave McElhatton is the recipient of the rarely-bestowed ``Governor's 
Award'' from the Board of Governors of the Northern California Emmy 
Awards, which is given in recognition of truly outstanding and unique 
individual achievements of long duration. He has also received numerous 
awards from the Associated Press, United Press International, the Press 
Club of San Francisco, the Peninsula Press Club, the Northern 
California Television and Radio News Directors Association, the 19th 
Annual Radio Fellow Award of the University of San Francisco, the James 
J. Strebing Memorial Award, a Special Award for Excellence from the 
American Society of Anesthesiologists, and the highest honor of the 
Aviation Writers' Association. In 1997, Dave McElhatton was inducted 
into the San Francisco State University Hall of Fame. For many years, 
Dave taught broadcasting at his alma mater, San Francisco State 
University, where I was a professor of economics for three decades.
  Since retiring from broadcasting, Mr. McElhatton continues to 
contribute to our community by serving as master of ceremonies and 
keynote speaker at fund-raising events for Bay Area non-profit and 
charitable organizations. He also can be seen in California's skies, 
where he enjoys piloting his own plane.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me today in paying tribute 
to Dave McElhatton for a distinguished 50-year career in journalism. We 
wish Dave and his wife, Karen, a retirement replete with richly 
deserved good health and happiness.

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