[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5019]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              IN HONOR AND REMEMBRANCE OF THOMAS H. GREER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 1, 2011

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Thomas H. 
Greer, a loving husband and friend, and the vice president of the 
Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.
  Mr. Greer became editor of the Plain Dealer in 1990, becoming only 
one of three African-American journalists to hold such a position at a 
major daily newspaper at that time.
  Known to colleagues as Thom, he served as a role model for young and 
aspiring journalists. His work ethic was, as he told the newspaper in 
1992, to ``keep your mouth shut, hold your head up high and work like 
hell to make yourself and those around you as good as they can be.''
  Mr. Greer was born in Nashville, Tennessee, but moved to New Jersey 
during his childhood. He majored in history at Dillard University in 
New Orleans, and later attended Rider College and Rutgers University.
  In 1964, Mr. Greer was hired by the Evening Times in Trenton, NJ, as 
a sports journalist. He moved to the Plain Dealer in 1974, where he 
served on the suburban news unit. His stories investigating shakedowns 
of late-night liquor stores and thefts of confiscated liquor by 
Cuyahoga County Sherriff officers, led to their arrests.
  Mr. Greer left the Plain Dealer for larger papers in Chicago, 
Philadelphia and New York, but returned in 1983 as editor of the sports 
department. He expanded their news coverage from exclusively local 
sports to national and international stories.
  Mr. Greer worked as managing editor, executive editor and eventually 
editor, as he oversaw the expansion of the paper, the creation of new 
bureaus in other counties, and expanded coverage of upcoming issues. In 
1992, he became vice president and oversaw community outreach, 
volunteerism, affirmative action employment and the Plain Dealer 
Charities, as well as the Plain Dealer High School Newspaper Workshop.
  In addition to his many roles with the Plain Dealer, he served as a 
trustee of the Greater Cleveland Roundtable, WVIZ-TV, the City Club, 
and the National Junior Tennis Association. He was honored by 
Kaleidoscope Magazine and inducted into the Region VI Hall of Fame of 
the National Association of Black Journalists.
  Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in remembering Thomas H. 
Greer, whose legacy of professionalism, positive work ethic, and 
commitment to justice will forever serve as an example. I extend my 
sincere condolences to Mr. Greer's wife Maxine and to his family, 
friends and colleagues that knew him best.

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