[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 126 (Wednesday, August 5, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6363-S6364]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          REMEMBERING ED LANE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise to mourn the loss of an honored 
Kentuckian, renowned businessman,

[[Page S6364]]

and public servant, and my personal friend, Ed Lane. After battling 
cancer for more than 2 years, Ed passed away on August 2. He was 73 
years old.
  Ed was passionate about supporting his hometown of Lexington and the 
Commonwealth of Kentucky. He was well connected to the State's business 
community through his work as a commercial real estate broker. Seeing a 
need for a publication for and about Kentucky business, he founded and 
was the publisher of the Lane Report, a great business news magazine 
for Kentucky.
  Encouraged by his friends in the community to seek public office, Ed 
also represented the 12th District of Lexington on the Lexington-
Fayette Urban County Government Council since 2005. He was reelected 
without opposition in 2014. As a council member, he brought his 
business experience and his wisdom to fight for and represent Lexington 
businesses and his district.
  In addition to his public service as a council member, Ed supported 
his community through many philanthropic efforts and volunteer service. 
He served on the boards of many community, arts and civic 
organizations, including the Breeders' Cup Host Committee, the UK 
Sanders-Brown Center of Aging Foundation Board, the Lexington Downtown 
Development Authority Board, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport 
Board, the Kentucky Arts Council, the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games 
Advisory Committee, LexArts, the Lexington Ballet, the Lexington 
Philharmonic, the Better Business Bureau of Lexington, Junior 
Achievement of the Bluegrass, the Mayor's American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act Committee, the Fayette County Equine Task Force, the 
Commerce Lexington Agribusiness Committee, and others.
  Ed was an artist, photographer, and art collector. He loved cooking, 
reading, gardening, and talking politics. He also loved fast cars, 
earning him the nickname ``Fast Eddie'' in the 1960s. Ed is survived by 
his daughters Susan Brett Lane and Katherine Meredith Lane.
  I was deeply saddened to hear of Ed's passing. He was a good friend, 
and I always enjoyed reading the Lane Report, especially Ed's engaging 
One-on-One interviews. Elaine and I send our condolences to his family.
  The Lexington Herald-Leader recently published an article detailing 
Ed's life and achievements. I ask unanimous consent that said article 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

            [From the Lexington Herald-Leader, Aug. 3, 2015]

 Lexington Council Member, Business Magazine Founder and Publisher Ed 
                            Lane Dies at 73

                    (By Greg Kocher and Karla Ward)

       Lexington Urban County Councilman Edwin ``Ed'' Green Lane 
     III, founder and publisher of The Lane Report magazine, died 
     Sunday night. He was 73.
       Lane, a longtime commercial real-estate broker, had battled 
     cancer for more than two years, according to a statement 
     Monday afternoon from The Lane Report, an online and monthly 
     print magazine of business news.
       He made his first run for public office in 2004, when he 
     was elected to represent the 12th District on the council. He 
     took office in 2005 and had been re-elected to two-year terms 
     ever since.
       Lane is survived by daughters Susan Brett Lane and 
     Katherine Meredith Lane, who were with him when he died, 
     according to The Lane Report.
       ``The staff is saddened by the passing of an amazing man, 
     but it is lessened by how we marvel at the legacy Ed Lane 
     leaves,'' said Mark Green, editorial director of Lane 
     Communications Group.
       ``His energy, his intelligence, his enthusiasm, his 
     optimism and concern for his family, community and the nation 
     will be missed but will continue to influence us. He was a 
     true leader. The man had enthusiasm for life.''
       Mayor Jim Gray issued a statement: ``Not only was Ed highly 
     successful in his own business, he was an outstanding public 
     servant who brought his business experience and expertise to 
     City Hall to fight for Lexington's business men and women. He 
     also was a strong advocate for his district. Our city will 
     miss his leadership and experience.''
       Sen. Mitch McConnell said he ``was saddened to hear of the 
     passing of my good friend Ed Lane. Ed was a dedicated public 
     servant and a tireless advocate for the people of Kentucky. 
     He was also a successful businessman and publisher. I always 
     enjoyed reading the Lane Report, a great publication for and 
     about Kentucky's business community, especially Ed's engaging 
     `One-on-One' interviews.''
       Councilman Bill Farmer Jr. said Lane's knowledge about real 
     estate proved valuable whenever the council considered 
     whether to buy property.
       ``He could make or break any land deal,'' Farmer said. ``He 
     could sit and go through the numbers at the microphone, off 
     the top of his head, about what the overhead would be, how 
     much something would cost, what the cost would be per square 
     foot. . . . He could look at any deal like that and criticize 
     it or laud it, and immediately you would go, `Yep, that's it 
     and why.' ''
       That talent for finances made Lane a strong member of the 
     council, former Mayor Jim Newberry said.
       ``His financial acumen was way above average,'' Newberry 
     said. ``He was really helpful when it came to budget issues 
     or the pension problems, or whether or not we ought to 
     refinance bonds.''
       He said Lane also was ``a fun person to be around'' and 
     they became good friends.
       ``Ed just had a personality that I would characterize as 
     delightful,'' Newberry said. He ``had a good sense of humor, 
     didn't get too worked up about things, certainly didn't take 
     himself or what he was doing too seriously. . . . He gave a 
     lot to the community and had so much more to give.''
       Lane was born in Nashville and graduated from the 
     University of Georgia.
       After college, he worked for a major advertising agency in 
     New York for a couple of years, according to The Lane Report 
     website. He later moved to Atlanta, where he was sales 
     manager for WRNG radio and was president of the Atlanta Young 
     Republicans.
       He also got into the commercial real-estate business, which 
     led to a job as national director of real estate for 
     Lexington-based Jerrico in its Atlanta regional office, The 
     Lane Report said. Lane came to Lexington regularly as he 
     scouted new locations for the company, and he was involved in 
     many site acquisitions for Long John Silver's Seafood Shoppes 
     nationwide.
       In 1981, Lane started the Lexington-based commercial real-
     estate brokerage Lane Consultants and, later, Lane 
     Communications Group, publisher of The Lane Report.
       Running a magazine is ``a risk that very few people have 
     been able to be successful in,'' but Lane ``did it 
     terrifically well,'' said Jim Host, founder of Host 
     Communications and former Kentucky secretary of commerce.
       ``It ended up kind of being the official business magazine 
     of the state,'' he said.
       Host said Lane was kind, insightful and had a non-
     threatening demeanor during interviews ``but also really got 
     to the core of what he was trying to communicate.''
       ``I admired the dickens out of him,'' Host said.
       Former councilman Doug Martin said he and Lane were from 
     opposite ends of the political spectrum, but they enjoyed 
     breaking bread together in a restaurant or at Lane's home.
       ``He was a fine chef,'' said Martin, who sat next to Lane 
     in the council chambers from 2009 to 2013. ``He was always 
     very proud of coming up with some great concoction or some 
     great recipe or some great ingredient that he'd found. He 
     would have pots of herbs and fish and seasonings, and it 
     would all just kind of stew together, and it would end up in 
     this fabulous presentation.''
       Services will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 15 at Kerr Brothers Funeral 
     Home on Harrodsburg Road. Visitation will begin at 6 p.m.

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