[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 116 (Thursday, July 23, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1115-E1116]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN RECOGNITION OF MR. WANE A. HAILES

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 23, 2015

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and commend 
an outstanding citizen and respected community leader, Mr. Wane A. 
Hailes, President and Publisher of the Courier/Eco Latino, Columbus, 
Georgia's premier African-American and Latino newspaper. The Courier/
Eco Latino will be celebrating ten years of providing the Tri-City Area 
of Columbus, Georgia, Fort Benning, Georgia, and Phenix City, Alabama 
with positive, high quality information. In celebration of this special 
milestone, the Courier/Eco Latino will be hosting the 2015 Community 
Service Awards on Saturday, July 25, 2015 at the Columbus Convention 
and Trade Center in Columbus, Georgia.
  Wane A. Hailes was born in Richmond, Virginia and grew up in 
Portsmouth, New Hampshire; New Brunswick, New Jersey; Clifton Forge, 
Virginia; and Charlottesville, Virginia. In 1979, Wane graduated from 
Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas. He then served for fifteen years 
as Director of the YMCA in Missouri, Wisconsin, Florida, and North 
Carolina. In 1990, the Chattahoochee Valley gained a passionate and 
dedicated community leader when Wane A. Hailes arrived in Columbus, 
Georgia to serve as the CEO of the A.J. McClung YMCA.
  With thirty-one years of radio and newspaper experience in cumulative 
sales, marketing, and public relations, Wane became a driving force in 
the Columbus media. He worked for the minority-owned radio station, 
Davis Broadcasting Inc., as an on-air personality and sales consultant. 
He then worked at the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer as the Real Estate, 
Employment and Automotive Sales Consultant, before working at the 
minority-owned Columbus Times as Vice President of Advertising and 
Sales.

[[Page E1116]]

  In March 2005, Wane founded the Courier/Eco Latino, a bi-weekly 
publication with a circulation of 15,000 dedicated to acting as ``the 
voice of the people.'' It is published in English and Spanish and 
remains the only bilingual publication in the Tri-City area.
  Wane's goal in founding the Courier/Eco Latino was to provide his 
readers with real stories about the African-American and Latino 
experience in Columbus. He continued to tell those stories in his book, 
A View from a Pew, a thoughtful examination of African-American life 
and culture in the South.
  As well as receiving local recognition for his work, Wane received 
the prestigious Georgia Minority Small Business Champion Award and the 
Region IV Minority Small Business Champion Award from the U.S. Small 
Business Administration in 2007.
  Dr. Benjamin E. Mays often said: ``You make your living by what you 
get; you make your life by what you give.'' Not only has Wane 
established a legacy of multicultural journalism in Columbus, Georgia, 
but he has also done a tremendous job of giving back to the city, and I 
am very grateful for his tireless advocacy to make the community 
stronger. A man of great integrity, his efforts, his dedication, and 
his expertise in his field are unparalleled.
  There are not enough words to describe the impact that Wane A. Hailes 
has had on the African-American and Latino communities of Columbus. Not 
only does he care about each member of these communities, but he also 
works tirelessly to unite them through the Courier/Eco Latino 
newspaper. I am very grateful to Wane for his efforts to improve this 
diverse community.
  No hay suficientes palabras para describir el impacto que Wane A. 
Hailes ha tenido sobre las comunidades afroamericanas y latinas de 
Columbus. No solo le importa la vida de cada uno de los miembros de 
estas comunidades, pero trabaja incansablemente para unirlos a traves 
del periodico Courier/Eco Latino. Me siento muy agradecido a Wane por 
sus esfuerzos para mejorar esta comunidad diversa.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me, my wife, Vivian, and the 
more than 730,000 residents of Georgia's Second Congressional District 
in honoring Mr. Wane A. Hailes and thanking him for his meaningful 
contributions to the Tri-City community.

                          ____________________