[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 5, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1655-S1656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO BILL BAIRD

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, this year, the University of 
Pikeville in my home State will mark its 130th year of service to 
students in the mountains of central Appalachia. For more than half of 
that time, a member of the Baird family has served the school, its 
community, and most importantly, its students. After three decades of 
service, Bill Baird recently retired from the UPIKE board of trustees. 
In recognition of his legacy of leadership, mentorship, and 
accomplishment, UPIKE President Burton J. Webb awarded my friend with 
the inaugural Baird Family Service Award. So, I would like to take a 
moment today to pay tribute to Bill Baird and his family for their 
steadfast contributions to eastern Kentucky.
  Bill's family is deeply rooted in this region with history going back 
nearly a century. His father, William J. Baird II, grew up on a farm in 
the Bluegrass State before attending Berea College. In 1947, William 
hung a shingle, founding Baird & Baird law firm. Outside of his 
professional success, William dedicated much of his life to 
philanthropy and leadership, serving on the board of trustees of 
Pikeville Community College for nearly three decades. In gratitude for 
his service to the Pikeville community and the central Appalachian 
region, William received an honorary doctor of humanities degree in 
1977 from Pikeville College, UPIKE's name until 2011. Bill's mother, 
Florane, attended the Pikeville Collegiate Institute, a high school 
that later became part of the modern UPIKE. Through her care and 
compassion for the community, Florane also received an honorary 
doctorate from Pikeville College. Bill lovingly remembered them both as 
service-oriented people, and their influence, paired with a deep faith, 
inspired his work for the Pikeville community and the school.
  Working in the mines while studying at Pikeville College, Bill 
graduated in 1966. He later earned admission to the bar and served our 
country in the U.S. Army. Reentering private life, Bill worked at the 
family law firm and was eventually joined by his brothers, Charles and 
John, and members of the family's next generation.
  Even as he worked full time at Baird & Baird, Bill seemed to find 
extra hours in the day for his community. With leadership roles at 
UPIKE, in his church, and at Westcare of Kentucky--a substance abuse 
treatment facility--Bill constantly gave of himself to others. He 
coached the local high school's softball team for nearly two decades 
and the UPIKE team from 1994-2004, even receiving admission into the 
university's athletic hall of fame. After he retired from the practice, 
Bill hardly slowed down. He did so much pro bono work that he quipped, 
``Some people say I'm the only retired person they know who comes in to 
the office every day.''
  When asked about his impact on the school, the chairman of UPIKE's 
board said Bill gave ``of his time, talent, and treasure to the 
university at a level few have ever given, and he has done so with an 
unmatched sense of love and care.'' A great deal of Bill's support 
focused on first-time college students from the local community to 
foster the potential of Pikeville families. In addition to creating the 
award named in the Baird family's honor, the board of trustees also 
unanimously voted to establish the Bill Baird Family Scholarship to 
improve student retention and to help provide for students who may 
struggle to afford their education.
  Bill's not the only impressive member of his household. Kaye, his 
wife, spent much of her career contributing to the community, helping 
lead organizations like the chamber of commerce, the school board, and 
the Christian Appalachian Project. Excelling as an educator, she 
touched the lives of numerous eastern Kentucky children and earned her 
place in the inaugural class of UPIKE's Distinguished Educators Hall of 
Fame.
  Bill and Kaye have done so much for their community, with compassion, 
philanthropy, and leadership. I am so proud to pay tribute to the Baird 
family. They have earned our thanks and have made a lasting impact on 
this region. I am glad the Baird family name has rightfully earned a 
place of honor at UPIKE, and I ask each of my Senate colleagues to join 
me in congratulating Bill and Kaye for a lifetime of dedicated service 
to Kentucky.
  The UPIKE Magazine published a profile on Bill's contributions to the 
school. I ask unanimous consent that the article be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                  [From the UPIKE Magazine, Fall 2018]

 The Baird Family Legacy: Bill Baird Honored for Embodiment of Service

                           (By Mark Baggett)

       ``Our dad was a great teacher in treating people right,'' 
     says Bill Baird about his father, William J. Baird II, and 
     about the heart of the Baird family's long legacy of support 
     for UPIKE students.
       Among the many stories of the family's support, a 
     remarkable statistic stands out: A Baird has been serving at 
     UPIKE for over half of the 129 years of its existence. During 
     the 2018 opening convocation ceremony, President Burton J. 
     Webb, Ph.D., honored UPIKE Trustee Emeritus Bill Baird with 
     the inaugural Baird Family Service Award, in recognition of 
     his remarkable impact on the lives of others through 
     steadfast service to the university, to the Appalachian 
     region and to all humanity.
       ``In 2019, we will celebrate 130 years of service in the 
     mountains of Central Appalachia,'' says Webb. ``During that 
     span of time few families have impacted the college more than 
     the Baird family. Bill Baird has taken the legacy of servant 
     leadership from his mother, father, and brother even further. 
     He has been a softball coach, a friend of the university and 
     an ardent supporter of the university for decades.''
       After more than 30 years of distinguished service Bill 
     Baird retired from the UPIKE Board of Trustees, which was 
     also served by Bill's father and brother, Charles. In 
     recognition of Bill Baird's indelible contributions, the 
     board voted unanimously to establish and fund the Bill Baird 
     Family Scholarship to improve student retention by filling 
     financial gaps for students.
       ``You pick up the need down here,'' says Bill Baird. 
     ``There is a gap between the educated part of the community 
     and the working class such as the retired coal miners or 
     people on fixed incomes.''
       UPIKE Board Chairman Terry L. Dotson has witnessed the 
     fruits of Bill Baird's selflessness for decades.
       ``The entire Baird family is a treasure to Eastern Kentucky 
     and to the University of Pikeville,'' Dotson says. ``Bill is 
     an exceptional person in every way. He is someone every good 
     person strives to be. Bill cares about all things--his 
     church, family and community. He has been a special board 
     member who has fully given of his time, talent and treasure 
     to the university at a level few have ever given, and he has 
     done so with an unmatched sense of love and care. Bill is my 
     friend and has served our board with distinction.''
       Dotson's sentiments are echoed by UPIKE Trustee Richard A. 
     Sturgill. ``Bill Baird has been an inspiration to me and many 
     others in the UPIKE community. His unwavering positive 
     attitude, his willingness to encourage and mentor the 
     students and his ability to always stand up for what is right 
     has been steadfast. I am thankful to call him my friend,'' 
     says Sturgill.
       Bill Baird says the university and medical and optometry 
     colleges are ``miracles.''
       ``UPIKE is a light on the hill to this city, the region and 
     even nationally. To me, what we are is the answered prayers 
     for the many people who laid the foundation for this place by 
     praying for years. These are people who have sacrificed and 
     dedicated themselves to the university.''
       Humbly, Bill Baird deflects the spotlight to his parents. 
     His father, who died in 1987, was raised on a Kentucky farm 
     and was a graduate of Berea College and Duke Law School (a 
     classmate of Richard Nixon). He also founded in 1947 the 
     Baird & Baird law firm in Pikeville where Bill Baird and his 
     brothers (Charles and John) as well as children, 
     grandchildren and in-laws also practice. Bill Baird's mother 
     Florane Justice Baird, who died in 2011, also had strong 
     Pikeville roots: She attended the Training School for grades 
     1-8 in Pikeville (which operated in the original college 
     building) and then the Pikeville Collegiate Institute for 
     high school, before going to the University of Kentucky.
       ``My parents were very service-oriented people,'' says Bill 
     Baird. ``They were giving, caring people who gave back to 
     their community.''
       Bill Baird started at Duke University as an undergraduate 
     and says he ``made an A in fraternity and an A in football,'' 
     and soon he

[[Page S1656]]

     returned to the Pikeville area and worked in the mines, 
     graduated from Pikeville college in 1966. He was admitted to 
     the Kentucky bar in 1969 and served in the U.S. Army from 
     1969-1971.
       A life-transforming event happened to him in the spring of 
     1973 when heard the Rev. Ben Sheldon, who was then a 
     Presbyterian pastor in Washington, D.C., preach in Pikeville.
       ``He started preaching the gospel of God's love,'' Baird 
     says of Sheldon, who later became a pastor in Pikeville. ``I 
     felt a personal love that He died for me. It was God's 
     timing.''
       Baird went on to practice law in Pikeville, joking that 
     ``in Hatfield and McCoy country, folks can be litigious 
     here.'' He now describes his role as a ``sometime'' attorney, 
     not full-time nor part-time, who does pro bono work and helps 
     fill in for other attorneys at court appearances. ``Some 
     people say I'm the only retired person they know who comes in 
     to the office every day,'' he says.
       He followed up on his short ``athletic'' career at Duke by 
     coaching softball at Pikeville High School from 1986-2004 and 
     at the university from 1994-2004. Today one of the family's 
     scholarships is dedicated to athletics, and Bill Baird 
     himself is a member of the university's Athletic Hall of 
     Fame.
       Much of the family's UPIKE support is described by Bill 
     Baird as meeting the needs of first-time college students who 
     come from the community. He says he hopes the scholarships 
     will address larger gaps as well.
       To meet additional need in his region, Bill Baird has been 
     actively involved in several faith-based groups and community 
     support programs. He has supported the Fellowship of 
     Christian Athletes program, provided devotional Bibles to 
     coaches and is Board Chairman of WestCare of Kentucky, Inc., 
     which is involved in treatment of substance abuse.
       Today, the Baird Family Circle is one of the granite inlays 
     of Benefactor's Plaza on campus. Acknowledging the recent 
     service award and scholarship fund honoring him at UPIKE, 
     Bill Baird says, ``Christ made the difference in my life. He 
     gave me an opportunity to serve in this way.''
       He praises this year's fellow recipients of the Baird 
     Family Service award, UPIKE Trustee Gregory Pauley and his 
     wife, Kathryn, characterizing them as ``wonderful, caring 
     people,'' whose mobile home park neighborhood ministry is 
     just the kind of generosity and service embodied by the Baird 
     legacy.

   (At the request of Mr. Schumer, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)

                          ____________________