[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 207 (Monday, December 23, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING STEVE GRADOWITZ

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KEVIN McCARTHY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 23, 2019

  Mr. McCARTHY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Steve Gradowitz, 
who is retiring from an illustrious career as a radio personality in 
Bakersfield, California, which I have the honor of representing in this 
Chamber.
  Born and raised in Bakersfield, Steve graduated from East Bakersfield 
High School before joining the active ministry. Upon leaving the 
ministry in 1968 he began what would become a lifelong career in 
broadcasting. And after a brief stint working in Honolulu, Hawaii, 
Steve returned home to California with his wife Jan to begin their 
family.
  Despite being best known as Bakersfield's morning voice, Steve also 
has a successful entrepreneurial background. In 1975 he and Jan founded 
Christian Building Maintenance, a janitorial service; and sold the 
successful company in 1984 while he moonlighted at KAFY. They also 
became top agents for Century 21 Real Estate. In 1986 Steve began 
working at KUZZ, where he would go on to spend 33 years with the Buck 
Owens Productions station as Bakersfield's premier morning personality.
  As any member of the Bakersfield community will attest, we are 
tremendously lucky and grateful to have had Steve help us wake up and 
get going every weekday morning for so many years. His on-air 
excellence during his tenure at KUZZ earned him numerous accolades 
including: the Bakersfield Californian's reader's poll Favorite Morning 
Personality, the Billboard Personality of the Year, and the Academy of 
Country Music's Air Personality of the Year.
  I have had the pleasure of getting to know Steve over the years, and 
he is as good a person as he is a radio personality. In fact, in 
typical Steve fashion, when I asked him to emcee the Merle Haggard Post 
Office Declaration last April, he generously agreed. And as with 
anything Steve does, the event was better off with him being there. 
Steve's unique and insightful style of broadcasting will be greatly 
missed by his countless dedicated listeners, but I join legions of his 
listeners in wishing he and Jan nothing but the best in retirement. On 
behalf of California's 23rd Congressional District, I want to 
congratulate Steve on his admirable career, and thank him for his 
dedicated service to the residents of Bakersfield, California.

                          ____________________