[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 27, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO RUBY CALVERT

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a leader grounded 
in the traditions of the American West from my home State of Wyoming. 
Ruby Calvert has dedicated a lifetime of service to public 
broadcasting, most recently serving as the chair of the Board for the 
Corporation for Public Broadcasting. As the Corporation for Public 
Broadcasting prepares to conclude its work following 58 years of 
service to the American people, I wish to recognize her accomplishments 
and commend her service to the people of Wyoming.
  Ruby Calvert's education reflects the strong Wyoming roots that have 
guided her career in public service. Ruby's mother Dessie Bebout, a 
legendary World War II veteran and longtime postmaster in Shoshone, 
instilled in Ruby a love of serving others at an early age. She earned 
a bachelor of arts in English and secondary education from the 
University of Wyoming, where she developed the communication skills and 
instructional grounding that would later define her work in public 
media. She also completed postgraduate coursework in public 
administration and broadcasting, further preparing her for leadership 
roles that required discipline and a clear understanding of public 
service.
  Ruby devoted more than three decades to Wyoming PBS, beginning at the 
station's founding in 1983. Over the years, she served as director of 
programming, general manager, and president of the Wyoming PBS 
Foundation. In those roles, she strengthened local production, expanded 
educational programming, and ensured that our State had a credible 
public media voice.
  Her work underscored the fundamental Western belief in local 
decision-making, that governance should be closest to the people. Ruby 
understood that public broadcasting works best when it respects local 
communities, local values, and local accountability. She championed 
programming that told local stories and served viewers who are often 
overlooked by national media markets.
  Ruby has held a long record of public and civic service at the 
national, State, and local levels. She served two terms on the national 
PBS Board from 2008 to 2014, where she also worked on the station 
services, interconnection, national policy advisory, and station 
diversity committees. Governor Jim Geringer appointed her to the 
Wyoming State Board of Education, where she served from 2000 to 2006 
and chaired the board for 2 years.
  Earlier in her career, she served on and chaired the Riverton 
Memorial Hospital Board from 1996 to 2000 and was an officer of the 
Riverton Rotary for 6 years. Ruby has also served as a trustee of the 
Buffalo Bill Center of the West and currently sits on the museum's 
education and interpretation advisory committee. In addition, she is 
vice president of the Wind River Cultural Centers Foundation, 
established 3 years ago to support 3 Fremont County museums. Her 
dedicated service also includes time on the board of directors for 
America's Public Television Stations and on former Senator Mike Enzi's 
academy appointment committee.
  That same dedication carried over to her national service. First 
confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2018 and reconfirmed on a bipartisan 
basis in 2022, Ruby brought practical experience and fiscal discipline 
to the CPB Board. Elected chair in 2024, she led during a consequential 
period for public broadcasting. Guided by respect for taxpayers and a 
clear understanding of CPB's statutory mission, Ruby demonstrated 
principled leadership.
  Ruby and her late husband Edward have three children Chad, Kara, and 
Chris. I am proud to know Ruby, her family, and to call her a friend. I 
thank Ruby for her decades of dedication to Wyoming. She served as a 
national voice for Wyoming's values. Her legacy will endure in the 
communities she served and in the standard she set for responsible 
public service. I wish her and her family the very best in the years 
ahead.

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