[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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