[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 23, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S208-S209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                         TRIBUTE TO KEN SQUIER

 Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate Ken 
Squier, of Stowe, VT, for his historic contribution to motor sports and 
to broadcasting, and for his deep and abiding commitment to the people 
of Vermont. On November 29, 2012, NASCAR presented Ken with the 
prestigious Buddy Shuman Award, given to ``an individual who has played 
a key role in the continued growth and success of Cup racing.''
  Most Americans know Ken Squier as the ``Voice of the Daytona 500.'' 
In 1979, Squier convinced CBS Sports to broadcast the Daytona 500 in 
its entirety. This event was a seminal moment for stock car racing in 
the United States, later described by ESPN as ``NASCAR's most 
revolutionary event,'' the one that convinced the national networks

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that NASCAR had a very wide following around the country.
  When he was 14 years old, Ken Squier announced his first race at a 
small dirt track in northern Vermont--from the back of a logging truck.
  In 1960, he opened Thunder Road SpeedBowl, a quarter-mile racetrack 
in Barre, VT. In summer, the track has hosted stock car races every 
Thursday night for the last 50 years. These events have become fixtures 
in the culture of northern Vermont.
  As NASCAR developed a national following, Ken Squier became one of 
its most celebrated personalities. He pioneered the use of in-car 
cameras during broadcasts, putting viewers right next to the driver 
during the race. Ken's voice became inseparable from the sport, 
providing turn-by-turn coverage of all CBS-broadcast races for almost 
two decades. This included the sport's most prestigious event, the 
Daytona 500.
  Ken Squier is not at all defined solely by his importance to racing. 
He has deep roots in northern Vermont. In 1969, he became president of 
Radio Vermont, Inc., a family business that is one of the only 
independent, family-run radio companies left in the United States. 
Radio Vermont's stations provide a variety of music, sports, and news; 
in particular, they focus on local events, the happenings that bind 
communities together and give them identity. Over the years, Ken has 
staunchly opposed corporate consolidation of the media because he 
believes, strongly, that radio stations should serve the community and 
provide vital conduits for local information. He has practiced what he 
preaches.
  Radio Vermont's immense value to the communities it served was proven 
during the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011. Irene was 
the most destructive storm to hit Vermont in decades. Torrential rains 
and Vermont's mountainous terrain brought flooding on a vast scale, 
wiping out houses, businesses, and historic downtowns. Roads and 
bridges were washed away, cutting dozens of towns around Vermont off 
from the outside world. Ken and his staff, Eric Michaels, Lee Kittell, 
Tom Beardsley, meteorologist Roger Hill, and others kept the station on 
the air 24 hours a day in the weeks after the storm to ensure vital 
emergency information reached Vermonters in towns that had been cut 
off. With the State of Vermont's emergency communications equipment 
washed away, Radio Vermont proved that local radio stations are 
fundamentally important to their communities.
  Ken Squier has helped change sports in America, but even more 
significantly, he has been a true exemplar of a good citizen. Vermont 
is, and will remain, deeply in his debt.

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