[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8329]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         FAREWELL, TOM McAVOY 

  (Mr. GARDNER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. Speaker, times have been hard for the newspaper 
business; but this week, the Pueblo Chieftain experienced an especially 
tough loss--the retirement of its editorial research director, Tom 
McAvoy.
  Tom is a native of Pueblo, Colorado. He graduated from Central High 
School in 1964 and from CSU-Pueblo. After receiving a master's degree 
in journalism from Ohio State University in 1969, he spent a year 
working in the AP's Denver bureau until he accepted a teaching position 
at his alma mater back in Pueblo, Colorado.
  During the summers, he worked part time in the Chieftain's newsroom; 
and in 1977, the position became full time. When Tom began his career, 
these were the days of Woodward and Bernstein, Hunter S. Thompson, and 
Gloria Steinem. Investigative reporting and gonzo journalism just don't 
exist like that anymore. These were also the days before emails and 
cell phones, and stories were literally filed over the wires. Tom is, 
without a doubt, what one would consider ``old school.''
  In 1983, Tom took over as the political beat reporter for the 
Chieftain, working out of its Denver bureau for the next 21 years. He 
covered the State capitol, three Governors; and he remembers what the 
Colorado legislature was like before term limits.
  I've had the opportunity to work with Tom not only at the State 
capitol in Denver, Colorado, but at the Chieftain. He knows a great 
deal and cares a great deal about Colorado, southeastern Colorado, and 
the water law that has made Colorado the great State that it is today. 
Not only am I going to miss Tom McAvoy, but I know the people of Pueblo 
and the people of southeastern Colorado will as well.
  Tom, thank you for your service to the people, and I look forward to 
working with you because I know, in retirement, you're still not going 
away.

                          ____________________