[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14428-14429]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO ERNESTINE CORNETT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I stand before you today to pay tribute 
to a woman who has spent a significant amount of her life working to 
inform and entertain local communities in eastern Kentucky through the 
television station WYMT. After 20-plus years and a plethora of job 
titles within the company, Ms. Ernestine Cornett retired from her 
position as general manager in May of 2012 with as much passion and joy 
in her heart as when she first began.
  In the mid-1980s, Ernestine, her husband, and their daughter 
relocated from the city of Lexington to Perry County. It was here that 
the admirable works produced by Cornett began. Responding to an ad in 
the newspaper began the journey of this extensive television-business 
career. I have great respect for Ernestine as she started at the 
bottom, worked hard, and eventually progressed to the top of the 
hierarchical ladder.
  Ambitiously, she pressed through to accomplish great things, not only 
for eastern Kentucky but also for the television company in which she 
was employed. Working for WYMT television station, Ernestine knew that 
her friends and family would be adequately updated with weather and 
news announcements, as well as sports and other forms of entertainment. 
The television station matured and displayed ample signs of success 
while Ernestine was aboard with the company.
  Her motivation in life was to make sure that eastern Kentucky was 
knowledgeable and well-informed. Finally, after 27 years of working, 
Ernestine Cornett retired in order to enjoy time with family and the 
next phase of her life. Ernestine trusts that WYMT will continue to 
prosper and the team members will carry on with her same passion.
  The Hazard Herald recently published an article about the 
accomplishments of Ms. Ernestine Cornett, and I would ask unanimous 
consent that said article be printed in the Record following my 
remarks.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                 [From the Hazard Herald, May 30, 2012]

       Ronald Reagan was president, very few people had ever heard 
     of high-definition television, and a small CBS affiliate with 
     the call letters WYMT was about to revolutionize the way 
     eastern Kentuckians got their news each day.
       It was 1985, just two years after Ernestine Cornett and 
     husband Keith had returned to their native Perry County with 
     their four-year-old daughter Ashley in tow. Keith had just 
     sold his accounting and income tax business in Lexington.
       They were, as Ernestine put it, ``starting over in familiar 
     surroundings.''
       A graduate of Hazard High School, and then Morehead State 
     University, Ernestine Cornett had been substituting in the 
     city and county school districts when she ran across an ad in 
     the Hazard Herald for a position at this new television 
     station. She answered the ad, interviewed with a Lexington 
     broadcaster by the name of Ralph Gabbard, and got the job in 
     the avails coordinator position, a job which she described as 
     consisting of inputting advertiser information and ensuring 
     that the ad would have time on the air.
       ``Frankly, at the time, I had no idea what I was suited for 
     in the television business,'' Cornett said. ``Certainly I had 
     no experience, but evidently Mr. Gabbard knew.''
       Mr. Gabbard must have known, because in a couple of years 
     she took the position of sales assistant and then office 
     manager. And then, in 1990, when station manager Wayne Martin 
     was promoted to the WKYT station in Lexington, Cornett also 
     received a promotion and began what would be a career heading 
     WYMT that would last more than 20 years. That career will 
     come to an end with Cornett's retirement later this month, 
     but it was Martin whom she credited with her long tenure at 
     WYMT, and with her landing the job in the first place.
       ``Certainly Wayne Martin was a big part of my success at 
     WYMT, as he recommended me for his replacement, and although 
     I was intimidated at the prospect, I knew it was a once-in-a-
     lifetime opportunity,'' Cornett said.
       Martin returned to Hazard on Tuesday of this week, as he 
     attended a special lunch to honor Cornett's career and noted 
     that her leadership has been a cornerstone at WYMT now for 22 
     years.
       ``Her leadership has been one which I know I've tried to 
     emulate because of her integrity, and sense of fair play, and 
     her absolute passion for eastern Kentucky,'' Martin said.
       WYMT was purchased by Gray Television in 1994, an Atlanta-
     based media company that owns several other stations, 
     including WKYT in Lexington and WVLT in Knoxville. When Gray 
     took over WYMT, Cornett's title changed to vice-president and 
     general manager.
       In the years that Cornett has headed WYMT, the station has 
     shown growth and success, and has also maintained its 
     relevancy as eastern Kentucky's only localized television 
     broadcast. There are no other television stations that cater 
     solely to the eastern Kentucky market. The station has been 
     able to do that, Cornett explained, because the station 
     serves the community, both as a local advertising source and 
     a news outlet that offers hard news updates and features, as 
     well as weather, sports, and entertainment options for the 
     residents of eastern Kentucky. That was something that had 
     never been done on television prior to WYMT's creation.
       And as a native and resident of eastern Kentucky, as well 
     as the leader of a media outlet, Cornett knows well the 
     importance that a news organization can represent, and the 
     service it can provide.
       ``As a local, I was a manager fully invested in the success 
     of this station because I can remember what it was like 
     before WYMT came along,'' she said. ``I would not want to 
     return to those times. Now, I will be fully invested in the 
     station in new ways, as a viewer, as a consumer.''

[[Page 14429]]

       But there have been a lot of changes and challenges along 
     the way that Cornett oversaw during her career. Gone are the 
     analog broadcasts, and WYMT's newscasts are not solely 
     offered on television anymore.
       ``Our news can be watched on the World Wide Web and on 
     mobile devices,'' she noted. ``And, although it took us years 
     to get a satellite truck, there are now small portable 
     devices that can transmit news packages through phone and 
     data lines. Technology in this business is always moving 
     forward. Our challenge is to keep up.''
       Cornett will spend her last day at the station in Hazard on 
     Friday, and of course, after a long career there are going to 
     be some things she will miss, from the people she meets every 
     day in the station's hallways to the excitement of being 
     inside the news machine as it does its work. But at the same 
     time, she knows that WYMT won't miss a beat with the 
     management team in place, and she's certainly happy about 
     that.
       ``We have a great cohesive crew here and a great management 
     team in Neil Middleton, Jim Boggs, Louise Sizemore, and 
     Philip Hayes,'' she noted. ``I am leaving the station in very 
     capable hands, thus I have am leaving with a wonderful sense 
     of pride and peace.''
       Cornett said she doesn't have any specific plans after her 
     retirement is final, and after attending school or working 
     for the majority of her life, she is ready for what she 
     called ``unstructured days.''
       ``I have no immediate plans except to enjoy my family, get 
     up every day and do what pleases me,'' she said, and from all 
     accounts that is something she has certainly earned.
       ``She's a very compassionate person, and she realizes the 
     needs, day to day, of the people that work here,'' noted Phil 
     Hayes, chief engineer at WYMT. ``She didn't micromanage 
     anyone, but she was able to comprehend and anticipate what it 
     took to make this station operate as efficiently as it has, 
     and she's just a great person to work with.''
       ``You couldn't have a better boss than Ernestine Cornett,'' 
     added Neil Middleton, WYMT's news director. ``I think the way 
     we look at Ernestine is, she was our boss, but more 
     importantly she is our friend, and she is family.''

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