[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20909]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         COMMENDING RON EDMONDS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, it is fitting that we in the Senate take 
note of the retirement of Ron Edmonds of the Associated Press, a 
veteran news photographer who has long and superbly documented public 
life in the Nation's Capital, including here on Capitol Hill.
  If by chance we have not seen Ron himself over the years on the White 
House driveway or in the Senate's hearing rooms and hallways, we all 
surely recognize his work. His images, in the parlance of 
photographers, have bracketed the history of our era, from marches on 
Washington, to the attack on President Reagan's life--a photograph for 
which Ron Edmonds was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for spot news 
photography.
  By now he has covered the White House for 28 years and captured the 
news in images of so many Presidents. He entered the world of 
photography in the day of celluloid film and concluded his career after 
having helped usher in the age of digital news photography.
  I am grateful to have known Ron during his long career. I wish him 
and his family our congratulations and our best wishes.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record Ron Edmonds' 
farewell message to his AP associates.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                   Retirement Message of Ron Edmonds

                               July 2009

       After twenty-eight years of covering the White House for 
     the Associated Press, I have decided to retire and spend some 
     time with my family. I know you usually hear this excuse from 
     politicians who have just been caught with their hands in the 
     cookie jar or with a high-priced companion; but, in this 
     instance, spending time with my family is my true reason, ok 
     maybe a little fishing as well.
       I have had one of the most fantastic jobs in the world. It 
     has allowed me to work with some of the greatest journalists 
     in the world and to make images of some of the biggest events 
     in the last thirty years. I hope that in some small way, I 
     have helped the Associated Press maintain its prominence as 
     the number-one news organization.
       I will never forget the experiences that I have been 
     allowed to take part in: such as, walking through the 
     Forbidden City in China or walking around Red Square with 
     Ronald Reagan; ducking behind an inadequate rock in the 
     Iranian desert as Iraqi artillery shells exploded around us; 
     or, more pleasantly, drinking lemonade with King Hussein and 
     Queen Noor at their summer home in Aqaba, Jordan; and boating 
     down the Nile and strolling through the Valley of the Kings 
     in Egypt with then-Vice President Bush.
       I have spent many sleepless nights mulling over this 
     decision. It is difficult to leave my many friends here and 
     around the world at the Associated Press. But I have great 
     hopes for a continued bright future for the AP. I leave with 
     no trepidation but rather with a heart full of confidence 
     that our younger generation of talented AP photographers, 
     such as Charles Dharapak among others, will fill the void 
     with a better and stronger report than ever before.
       I have been lucky enough to win a couple of small awards 
     for my work. But perhaps one of the most rewarding still was 
     when my daughter Ashley came home from elementary school one 
     day and announced that she was so proud, because that day she 
     was able to raise her hand and tell the teacher that the 
     picture on the front of her Weekly Reader was taken by her 
     dad.
       I will miss all of my friends, especially those editors on 
     the desk of the Washington bureau, who very rarely get the 
     credit they deserve for wading through my many images to put 
     me on the front pages of newspapers and web pages around the 
     world. It has always been a team effort in Washington.
       Thanks to all of you for making me look good.
           Regards,

                                                  Ron Edmonds,

                                  Senior White House Photographer,
     Associated Press.

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