[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 83 (Thursday, June 20, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN RECOGNITION OF JACK LOFTIS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 20, 2002

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Jack Loftis, the longtime 
Associate Publisher and Editor of the Houston Chronicle, who will 
officially retire on July 1, 2002, after serving nearly 50 years in 
Texas journalism.
  A native of Hillsboro, Texas, Jack Loftis began his journalism career 
as a sportswriter for the Hillsboro Daily Mirror while still attending 
Baylor University, where he received a BBA degree in the spring of 
1957. Soon after he was named editor of the paper in 1962. Mr. Loftis 
joined the Houston Chronicle in 1965 as a copy editor and five years 
later became editor of the Texas Magazine, the paper's Sunday 
rotogravure section. In 1972, he was promoted to features editor and 
began his rise through the newspaper's executive ranks and in 1974 was 
named assistant managing editor. Promoted to assistant editor in 1979 
and vice president and editor in 1987, Jack Loftis gained the 
additional titles of executive vice president in 1990 and associate 
publisher in 1998. At the age of 67, Mr. Loftis has been the 
Chronicle's ranking editor during the past 15 years and the ninth in 
the Chronicle's 100-year history. His tenure is second only to that of 
M. E. Foster, who founded the paper in 1901 and served as its editor 
for 26 years.
  Throughout his career Jack Loftis has remained involved in a number 
of organizations aimed at improving the Houston community. He is a 
founding director of Crime Stoppers of Houston, Inc., Vice President of 
the Chronicle's Goodfellows holiday charity and a former member of both 
the Houston READ Commission and the Clean Houston Commission. Mr. 
Loftis, along with his wife Beverly has been involved in activities 
connected with the Lone Star Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, 
Friends of the West University Park and Citizens for Animal Protection.
  Jack Loftis' exemplary model of community activism has earned him the 
respect and praise of his colleagues, community leaders and countless 
community organizations. He was the recipient of the United Way Loving 
Hand Award (1994); the Headliners Foundation of Texas' Lifetime 
Achievement Award (1995); Honorary chairman of the 1995 Inaugural 
Committee; Newspaper Features Hall of Fame (1997); the Freedom of the 
Information Foundation of Texas' James Madison Award (1999); and the 
Pulitzer Prize Nominating Juror (1999 and 2000).
  Honored as a Baylor Distinguished Alumnus in 1988, Loftis was a 
member of the school's Sesquicentennial Council of 150 during 1993-95 
and received the Baylor Communications Award in 1997. He currently is a 
member of the executive committee of the Baylor Alumni Association and 
chairs the advisory board for The Baylor Line, the association's 
quarterly magazine. Also, in recognition of his legacy, Baylor 
University has named the press box at its newly constructed Baylor 
Ballpark stadium in Jack Loftis' honor.
  Jack Loftis recently summed up his career best by saying: ``Since the 
day I walked in the Chronicle my intention has been to do what was best 
for the community, this newspaper and this staff. I hope I have 
succeeded more times than I have failed.'' Mr. Speaker there is no 
question that Jack Loftis has succeeded in improving our city, state 
and nation and establishing the Houston Chronicle as one of America's 
leading daily newspapers. Throughout his tenure, Jack witnessed and 
reported on the tremendous growth of Houston and Texas, the rise (and 
sometimes the fall) of its leaders and every day lives of the people 
who make up our great nation. Committed to the truth and a free, open, 
and democratic society, he has never shied away from reporting the news 
and expressing an opinion regardless of controversy or consternation. 
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my friend on his tremendous career and 
commend him on a job well done.

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