[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Pages 25302-25303]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO TONY CRUISE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Tony 
Cruise, the morning voice of WHAS radio in my hometown of Louisville, 
KY. His love of Louisville and his perseverance and dedication to WHAS 
is something to be commended. Tony and his family moved to Louisville 
in 1969. As a child, he fell in love with the city and the voices he 
heard on the local radio. While most members of the media community 
long for the ``big time'' of New York or Los Angeles, Tony's dream, 
since he was a young man, was to be the morning anchor for WHAS, home 
of such Kentucky radio giants as Van Vance and Wayne Perkey.
  Tony received his first radio job at WWKY in Winchester as the 
Saturday afternoon disc jockey in 1980. His career almost ended after 
his first show. Fortunately for future WHAS listeners, Tony was a quick 
learner. He graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a 
bachelor's degree in mass communications in 1982.
  In 1992, there was a position available at WHAS. Tony wanted this 
position so badly that he waited outside the station for station 
manager Skip Essick to head home, so he could lobby for the position. 
His persistence paid off, when that October, Tony was hired. He hosted 
``Sports Talk,'' a call-in show that mainly focused on the interstate 
feud of athletic prowess between my alma mater, the University of 
Louisville, and the University of Kentucky.
  In May of this year, Tony realized his lifelong dream, when he was 
named the newest morning show host at WHAS. Unlike many radio 
personalities these days who love to offend, Tony is a decent, honest 
man who opens his heart to his listeners every morning. No wonder he is 
welcome in so many Kentucky homes, including mine.
  Tony is a friend of mine and I have been privileged to be a guest on 
his show. It is a terrific program. The Louisville community agrees, as 
some

[[Page 25303]]

120,000 people tune in to ``The Cruise-man'' as he is known, every 
week. I enjoy and commend him for his excellent work.
  I ask all my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Mr. Tony 
Cruise for his outstanding contributions to the Louisville community.

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