[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 148 (Thursday, September 29, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1412-E1413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO SAM KENNEDY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARSHA BLACKBURN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 28, 2016

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor former Tennessee 
Press Association president, judge, district attorney, newspaper 
editor, and publisher Sam Kennedy. He has become the 16th inductee into 
the State Open Government Hall of Fame. He will be the first Tennessean 
who has received this recognition.
  Sam Kennedy is from Maury County, Tennessee. He worked as the General 
Sessions Judge and District Attorney for the 14th Judicial District. He 
was also elected as the Maury

[[Page E1413]]

County Executive in 1992. Sam served as a member of the Tennessee State 
School Board and the Law Revision Commission.
  The main focus of Sam Kennedy's career is journalism. Kennedy was the 
editor and publisher of the Columbia Daily Herald and a leader in the 
Tennessee Press Association. He served as the president and chaired its 
Government Affairs Committee for 30 years. He also served as a director 
for the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association.
  Sam Kennedy has shaped much of what journalism is today. He has been 
an advocate for the First Amendment and took the lead to help pass the 
Tennessee Sunshine law. This law passed in 1974. It requires meetings 
of state, city and county government bodies to be open to the public 
and that any such governmental body must give adequate notice before 
the meeting. Through his influence, he fought to keep government as 
transparent as possible.
  The Open Government Hall of Fame is a joint initiative of the 
National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) and the Society of 
Professional Journalists (SPJ). Inductees are recognized for their 
``long and steady effort to preserve and protect the free flow of 
information about state and local government that is vital to the 
public in a democracy.
  Sam Kennedy has made an extraordinary impact in the state of 
Tennessee. His life's work and legacy will continue to benefit those 
who serve in government and journalism. I now ask my colleagues to join 
me in recognizing Sam Kennedy.

                          ____________________