[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 118 (Monday, July 18, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3329-S3330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO KEITH LAWRENCE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, after more than 50 years as a pillar of 
Owensboro, KY, news media, Keith Lawrence is retiring. As the 
Messenger-Inquirer's longest tenured reporter, Keith was his 
community's ever-present voice, covering stories that ranged from local 
businesses to U.S. Presidents. As the city's mayor put so well, Keith 
``will be hard to replace.'' Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
honoring Keith in his retirement.
  Keith has written for one newspaper or another since September 1963, 
when he first discovered his passion for journalism in high school. He 
cut his teeth during his undergraduate years at Murray State University 
writing for the Murray State News. After graduating, Keith entered the 
military, stationing in Fort Hood, TX. Loathe to give up any 
opportunity to write, he helped publish newsletters on base and worked 
at the post's newspaper.
  Following his military service and some short stints at a series of 
weeklies, Keith and his wife Sandy made their way to Owensboro, where 
he began his extensive career at the Messenger-Inquirer in 1972. Though 
he has covered local, State, and national stories, community journalism 
always remained his top priority. Keith felt he needed to be the ``eyes 
and ears'' of his readers.
  Keith's journalistic gifts have earned him fans both in Owensboro and 
across the wider Commonwealth. He recently received the Mayor's Award 
for Excellence for his commitment to community coverage and joined the 
Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame.
  Throughout my time in office, Keith has been a constant at any of the 
events I held in Owensboro. He asked insightful questions, squarely 
focused on how my work in the Senate affected his city.
  Though he is taking a step back from his position at the Messenger-
Inquirer, Keith plans to continue his column and write news stories as 
a freelancer. Anyone who knows Keith shouldn't be surprised. He will 
always live and breathe community journalism. For Keith, his work with 
the Messenger-Inquirer was more than just a job; it gave him a home in 
which his family flourished and provided a deep bond to his city.
  In honor of Keith's retirement, I would like to thank him for his 
service to the Commonwealth and persistent loyalty to strong local 
journalism. He has delivered an invaluable service to Owensboro 
residents for more than 50 years.
  The Messenger-Inquirer paid tribute to Keith's career in a recent 
article. 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 Messenger-Inquirer, July 8, 2022]

                  ``Lawrence Retiring After 50 Years''

       Keith Lawrence, the Messenger-Inquirer's longest-tenured 
     reporter, is retiring after more than 50 years with the 
     newspaper.
       Lawrence, 75, is a Ballard County native who found a 
     journalism career and home in Owensboro.
       He joined the staff in January 1972. Since then, he's 
     covered everything from mom-and-pop businesses to U.S. 
     presidents.
       According to Lawrence, being a journalist is all he ever 
     wanted to do since discovering it in high school.
       ``When I was a freshman, my English teacher asked us to 
     write poetry . . . and whatever I wrote she took across the 
     hall to the journalism teacher and asked her to run it in the 
     (school) newspaper--and they did,'' Lawrence said. ``She told 
     me I should take journalism next year. I didn't think I could 
     do any of that stuff, but I did it and fell in love with it.
       ``I've been writing for some kind of newspaper since 
     September 1963.''
       While in that journalism class, he met his wife, Sandy, 
     whom he married a year after graduating from high school.
       Sandy Lawrence said it was journalism that brought her 
     husband out of his shell.
       ``Keith is really a shy person,'' she said. ``But it was 
     being a reporter that allowed him to talk to anyone.''
       Lawrence pursued his newfound passion at Murray State 
     University, where he would write for the Murray State News 
     and eventually earn his bachelor's degree in journalism and 
     master's degree in communications.
       In February 1970, Lawrence received his draft notice for 
     the Vietnam War, but he was allowed to graduate from college 
     before entering the military.
       Lawrence was sent to Fort Hood, Texas, where he furthered 
     his journalism talents by working on the post's newspaper.
       Although he did spend time writing newsletters, Lawrence 
     said he took on heavier stories that would help him later in 
     civilian life.
       ``We did a lot of things that weren't fluff pieces,'' he 
     said. ``We investigated off-post housing. People would buy up 
     an old army barracks and turn it into eight apartments. These 
     were World War II army barracks, and people were being 
     charged outrageous rents.''
       Lawrence was honorably discharged after less than two years 
     and began looking for a journalism job.
       His first attempt was working for a start-up shopper--a 
     free weekly community paper--in Erin, Tennessee.
       ``It lasted about two months and we quit,'' Lawrence said. 
     ``We were working about 80 hours a week. We were salary and 
     didn't get any overtime.''
       That's when Lawrence reached out to Murray to see if anyone 
     there was aware of any newspaper openings.
       Lawrence said there was a weekly in Benton and a daily in 
     Owensboro that were hiring.
       ``I had enough of weekly newspapers so I applied up here,'' 
     he said.
       Prior to his starting at the Messenger-Inquirer on Jan. 24, 
     1972, Lawrence had only made two brief visits to Owensboro--
     once in high school and during a plane layover from basic 
     training.
       And when he and his wife, Sandy, moved to the city, 
     Lawrence said he didn't think it would be permanent.
       ``I thought two years and I'd go look for something else,'' 
     he said.
       Five decades later, Lawrence has written countless stories 
     and planted roots in Owensboro. The Lawrences have one son--
     Christopher--who's a writer for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
       In his time with the Messenger-Inquirer, Lawrence not only 
     covered local and state stories but also national ones.
       Among them were the 1988 Republican and Democratic 
     conventions and the first inauguration of U.S. President Bill 
     Clinton in 1993. He also spent a week with U.S. Sen. Wendell 
     Ford in Washington, D.C., before he retired.
       But for Lawrence, it has been community journalism that 
     mattered most; knowing he was supposed to be the ``eyes and 
     ears'' of the readers was something he took seriously.
       ``I always wanted to know why somebody was the way they 
     were,'' he said.
       On Thursday, Mayor Tom Watson presented the Mayor's Award 
     for Excellence to Lawrence in appreciation for his coverage 
     of community issues.
       ``He always treated the city and all of us fair,'' Watson 
     said. ``. . . Keith will be hard to replace. The stories he 
     tells are accurate, and you don't have to worry about him 
     editorializing your comments.''
       It was last year that Lawrence's dedication to his craft 
     was recognized by his being inducted into the Kentucky 
     Journalism Hall of Fame.
       For Lawrence, it was an accolade that capped off his 
     career.
       ``It's definitely the pinnacle,'' he said.
       As a journalist, Lawrence has a unique writing style that 
     is concise but still manages to convey all the pertinent 
     information, said Matt Francis, Messenger-Inquirer executive 
     editor.
       He also has a work ethic that is unmatched, having never 
     taken a sick day in 50-plus years at the paper, and the 
     ability to cover multiple areas from business to government 
     to entertainment, Francis said.
       ``But what truly sets Keith apart is his ability to keenly 
     understand this community and the readers of this 
     newspaper,'' Francis said. ``They feel a connection with him, 
     as he does with them, and I think he always understood what a 
     privilege it is to be a part of informing and entertaining a 
     community

[[Page S3330]]

     through journalism. He never took that for granted, and I 
     think readers recognize and appreciate that. I know I 
     certainly do.''
       Mike Weafer, Messenger-Inquirer publisher, said Lawrence 
     will be missed by both the newspaper and its readers.
       ``It's not very often that you get to use words like `hall 
     of fame' and `icon' when you are describing someone, but you 
     would not describe Keith's work at the Messenger-Inquirer 
     without using them,'' Weafer said. ``Keith has meant so much 
     to us and to this community.''
       Although Lawrence is retiring from his full-time position 
     at the newspaper, he will continue his column and write news 
     stories as a freelancer.
       And along with being proud of being affiliated with the 
     newspaper, Lawrence said it's been special watching Owensboro 
     and Daviess County blossom as a community.
       When he first moved here, Lawrence said the Frederica 
     Street sassafras tree, known as the largest in the world, was 
     the biggest attraction.
       But with the riverfront revitalization, the growth on 
     Kentucky 54 and destinations such as the Bluegrass Music Hall 
     of Fame & Museum, Lawrence said there's no place else he'd 
     rather be.
       ``Owensboro has come a long way; people who can't find 
     something to do in Owensboro aren't looking very hard,'' he 
     said. ``But through the years, I've found out that Owensboro 
     is whatever you want it to be.''

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