[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 8, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1030]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMENDING GARY DAIGNEAULT OF TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA ON HIS SELECTION TO 
                      THE BROADCASTER HALL OF FAME

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                            HON. JERRY LEWIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 8, 2010

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join the 
community of Twentynine Palms and the Morongo Basin of California in 
congratulating long-time broadcaster Gary Daigneault in being named to 
the Associated Press Television-Radio Association Hall of Fame.
  Gary Daigneault has been on the air for 31 years as a newscaster in 
the eastern desert area of California known as the Morongo Basin. When 
he went to work for stations KDHY/KQYN in 1979, the area was made up of 
small towns with a few thousand people scattered over vast desert 
vistas. I came to know both the desert communities--and Gary--as the 
member of Congress for the area. He was a bright and earnest young 
reporter serving a small but devoted radio audience.
  Over the years, the small towns of Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, Morongo 
Valley and Twentynine Palms have grown dramatically, with tens of 
thousands of people now tuning in to listen to Mr. Daigneault, who has 
been the community's voice for news with a morning news program for the 
entire 31 years.
  Mr. Daigneault invested in the community and became an owner-
broadcaster in 1989 when he and his wife Cindy started up their own 
station, KCDZ, making local news a priority.
  Although the area is still considered a ``small market'' for news, it 
is one with a worldwide focus because it is home to the Marine Corps 
Air-Ground Combat Center, a premier training center that has hosted 
tens of thousands of Marines each year. Many of those Marines now 
living around the country would recognize the voice of Mr. Daigneault, 
who has done an exemplary job of covering the base and its units.
  In perhaps his most dramatic accomplishment in covering the Marines, 
Mr. Daigneault in 1992 was the only ``embedded'' journalist covering 
the peace-keeping action in Somalia, which won him one of his many 
broadcasting awards.
  He came home from that mission and was quickly put to the test again 
when a 7.3 earthquake struck the desert town of Landers, causing 
widespread damage and disruption to the area. He stayed on the air and 
was the only source of news for many of the desert residents cut off by 
the quake--an effort that won him yet another award for broadcasting 
excellence.
  Gary has been recognized by the Associated Press for breaking more 
than 40 national and major regional news stories over the years. In 
2000, KCDZ was declared ``station of the year.'' He was given the 
prestigious Mark Twain Award for news writing in small market radio and 
the Golden Mike award for best small market radio news broadcast.
  Gary Daigneault is considered a community leader in Twentynine Palms. 
He is the president of the Theatre 29 community theater group, 
president of the Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce and the immediate 
past president of the local Rotary Club. He has also served twice as 
president of APTRA, and has taught broadcasting classes for the past 21 
years.
  Madam Speaker, Gary Daigneault has been the voice of news for an 
important part of my district for the past three decades, and he and 
his wife Cindy have been community leaders in the eastern desert area 
of California. His election to the radio-television news Hall of Fame 
is much deserved, and I ask you and my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating him and thanking him for his lifetime of service.

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