[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 163 (Friday, October 14, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1050]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO DICK HELTON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 14, 2022

  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dick 
Helton, the voice of countless breaking news updates, traffic reports, 
and stories that have kept Los Angeles moving and shaking since 1998. 
After more than 53 years on air and decades serving our community, Dick 
is preparing to sign off one last time before embarking on a well-
deserved retirement.
  Dick's incredible career in radio began on a family farm in Brocton, 
Illinois, where his father Kerrick taught him how to grow ``good crops 
of corn'' on land they have owned for over 150 years. After a gig at 
his college radio station at the University of Illinois, where he 
hosted a classical music program, he melded his new reporting prowess 
with his childhood pastime by hosting the morning farm show for the 
Illinois Farm Bureau. Along the way, Dick picked up another love, 
politics, and graduated with honors from the University of Illinois 
with majors in political science and economics--and of course, a 
bachelor's degree in journalism.
  Dick's professional radio career took off quickly in 1969, when he 
joined CBS news radio station WBBM-AM in Chicago as its youngest news 
anchor. He would go on to spend nearly three decades there covering a 
wide range of political and human interest stories, both close to home 
and far overseas--from history-in-the-making like the gripping Chicago 
7 trial and the notorious 1996 Democratic National Convention, to 
interviewing a survivor of the Titanic, covering the outbreak of war 
between India and Pakistan, and hosting the station's first-of-its-kind 
``Ask the Mayor'' program. His work garnered him numerous awards for 
broadcast excellence, including just about every ``Best Newscast'' 
award from 1985 to 1997.
  It was at WBBM that he met fellow broadcaster Carol Ramos, and after 
several years of afternoon-drive co-anchoring and friendship, they 
married in September 1997. After some months of living in a commuter 
marriage, Dick moved to Los Angeles, California in 1998, where he 
joined KNX news radio station in Los Angeles. Dick and Carol call the 
Los Angeles area home, but also spend time at the Helton family farm in 
Illinois.
  For 24 years now, Dick's deep, reassuring voice has been the first 
millions of Southern Californians hear when they get in their cars in 
the morning, and rely on for steady, unflinching coverage of the news 
that will shape their days. Dick and his longtime co-anchor, Vicky 
Moore, are often my first call when big stories break in California and 
DC. It has been a pleasure to bear witness--as a KNX listener and 
interview subject--to Dick's great insights and wonderful sense of 
humor over his years on air.
  I ask all members to join me in thanking Dick Helton for his decades 
of service to Los Angeles, to California, and to the Nation, and in 
wishing him good health and a great adventure in retirement.

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