[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7083]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




IN RECOGNITION OF THE DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE HERNDON COMMUNITY BY TOM 
                            AND BETSY GREIN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 20, 2004

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Rep. Tom Davis and myself, it is 
our pleasure today to recognize the contributions to community 
journalism made by Tom and Betsy Grein through their ownership of The 
Observer newspapers in the Herndon community of Fairfax County, 
Virginia. After 13 years at the helm starting in June 1990--when they 
bought The Observer from the late Peggy Vetter, the newspaper's 
founder--the Greins last October sold the paper to new owners.
  Tom and Betsy Grein formed a team dedicated to maintaining the 
highest standards of journalism with a focus on providing the community 
of Herndon with a vital source of information. Tom served as editor and 
publisher and Betsy was general manager and advertising director. 
During their tenure, The Observer grew with the community, increasing 
its circulation from 14,000 to more than 60,000, tripling its full-time 
staff, adding editions in Loudoun County and Reston, and publishing 
electronically on the World Wide Web.
  Tom also wrote more than 700 ``Our Town'' columns, faithfully 
documenting his perspective of Herndon and the history and people of 
the community.
  In addition to their tireless efforts as the owners of The Observer, 
they also found time to be active members of the Herndon community. Tom 
served on the Board of Directors of Herndon Community Television and 
the Herndon Rotary Club and Betsy was a member of the Board of 
Directors of the Herndon Dulles Chamber of Commerce and the Council for 
the Arts of Herndon.
  We express appreciation to Tom and Betsy Grein on behalf of all the 
citizens of the greater Herndon community for their dedicated service 
to community journalism and wish them the best in their future 
endeavors.

                          ____________________