[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 189 (Tuesday, December 6, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S6996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                         TRIBUTE TO MARK GORDON

 Mr. BLUNT. Madam President, I rise today to recognize my good 
friend, Mark Gordon, who will be retiring from his position as the 
president of the Missouri Broadcasters Association next year after 
almost a decade of distinguished service. Mark has been a broadcaster 
for over 40 years. He started his career as a copywriter and an 
announcer before moving on to being a newscaster and then switching to 
the advertising sales side of the business. Before agreeing to helm the 
MBA, Mark spent 10 years running television stations in Springfield, 
MS, my home town, which is where we first met each other.
  Mark moved to Springfield to work for KY3 in 1997, shortly after I 
came to Congress. In a lot of ways, our professional careers have been 
intertwined ever since. He has been a tireless advocate for local 
Missouri communities and Missouri broadcast stations and has been a 
trusted voice on their behalf for as long as I have known him. Whether 
we were working together on spectrum issues, satellite television 
reauthorizations, or public service campaigns, Mark has always been a 
person I could rely on. And between seeing him back home in Missouri at 
one of his members' stations or on one of his numerous visits here to 
Washington, DC, I have always appreciated his advice and how he always 
worked on behalf of the communities we both serve.
  I remember the meeting in my office almost 10 years ago where Mark 
and his predecessor, Don Hicks, let me know that Mark would be taking 
over the reins of the MBA. Don Hicks had served as the head of the 
Missouri Broadcasters for decades and left large shoes to fill. I can 
honestly say that Mark not only filled those shoes but also has left 
his own legacy on our home State and a high bar for whoever succeeds 
him.
  Mark's proud legacy also lives on through his son Mike, who has made 
significant contributions in his own right to Springfield's 
broadcasting industry.
  I wish Mark, his wife Lucy, their children Jaime and Mike, and their 
entire family nothing but success in this next chapter of his life. 
Forty years is a long time, and he has seen, and been part of, so much 
change in his industry. I am proud to have been able to call him my 
friend for the last 25 years, and I know that whatever he decides to do 
next he will continue to be a tremendous asset to his community and our 
State.

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