[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11085]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  HONORING JIM TRAVIS OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE ON THE OCCASION OF HIS 
                  RETIREMENT FROM WSMV--CHANNEL 4 NEWS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB CLEMENT

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 19, 2001

  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Jim Travis of 
Nashville, Tennessee, on the occasion of his retirement from WSMV--
Channel 4 after twenty years working as a political reporter for the 
station. Travis is often referred to as the ``Dean of Nashville 
Political Reporters'' due to his thirty-plus-years experience covering 
Tennessee politics, first at the local ABC affiliate, where he spent 
ten years on-air, and then upon moving to the NBC affiliate.
  While Jim's retirement is well deserved, his presence on Nashville 
television will be greatly missed. Travis began his journalism career 
as an announcer in Oklahoma at the University of Tulsa campus radio 
station more than forty-one years ago. After college, he spent several 
years working at television and radio stations in Alabama.
  In 1970, Travis made his move to Nashville, Tennessee, working for 
the local ABC affiliate which made the transition from Channel 8 to 
Channel 2 during that time period. He furthered his education, 
graduating from the University of Tennessee at Nashville with a 
Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Economics.
  Beginning in the seventies, he made his mark on Tennessee politics, 
covering the administrations of Governors Dunn, Blanton, Alexander, 
McWherter, and Sundquist, as well as numerous sessions of the Tennessee 
General Assembly.
  Jim's institutional knowledge of Tennessee politics and political 
figures is legendary. In 1982, Jim was awarded the coveted George 
Foster Peabody Award for excellence in journalism, along with several 
of his colleagues at WSMV--Channel 4. In recent years his coverage of 
the ongoing budget debate in the Tennessee General Assembly has 
garnered high ratings for the station time and again.
  Although he has always been first and foremost a journalist, Jim 
enjoys bluegrass and classical music, as well as operating a ham radio 
and amateur photography. His love of ham radio began years ago, as a 
child, and while serving as a radio operator in the U.S. Army from 
1963-1965.
  Jim is also known for his love of life and close observation of 
personalities and people. Perhaps those traits have best served him in 
his chosen field along with his quiet smile and discerning demeanor.
  Jim Travis is a beloved figure whose work has impacted literally 
thousands of Tennesseans over the airwaves during his career. He will 
be greatly missed upon his retirement, but deserves the very best that 
life has to offer both now and in the years to come.

                          ____________________