Floor SpeechNeutral2024-12-17

HONORING THE LIFE OF NEBRASKA COMMUNITY LEADER JOHN EDMUND GOTTSCHALK

DefenseVeterans

Context

On 2024-12-17, Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) delivered a floor speech titled "HONORING THE LIFE OF NEBRASKA COMMUNITY LEADER JOHN EDMUND GOTTSCHALK" in the Senate. The speech addressed defense and also covered veterans affairs. It referenced legislation including S7068, S7069, SRES928.

Full Text

HONORING THE LIFE OF NEBRASKA COMMUNITY LEADER JOHN EDMUND GOTTSCHALK

Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024) [Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024)] [Senate] [Pages S7068-S7069] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING THE LIFE OF NEBRASKA COMMUNITY LEADER JOHN EDMUND GOTTSCHALK Mr. RICKETTS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to consideration of S. Res. 928, which is at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title. The bill clerk read as follows: A resolution (S. Res. 928) honoring the life of Nebraska community leader John Edmund Gottschalk. There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution. Mr. RICKETTS. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, that the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The resolution (S. Res. 928) was agreed to. The preamble was agreed to. (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'') Mr. RICKETTS. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a great Nebraskan and a great American, John Edmund Gottschalk. John Gottschalk was born in Omaha in 1943 and grew up in a small town in Nebraska called Rushville. He was a Boy Scout, and he went on to attend the University of Nebraska, majoring in political science and journalism. His father started the Sheridan County Star, and John worked there as well, really getting his break into journalism, the newspaper business. In 1972, John bought the Sidney Telegraph in Sidney, NE, and became mayor of the town of Sidney. In 1975, he joined the Omaha World-Herald as an assistant to the president. He eventually worked his way up to become the publisher and CEO in 1998, and he remained that until 2009. Actually, 1989. I got those numbers flipped around. In 1989, he became CEO and publisher. John and his wife Carmen were extraordinary people. John led the Omaha World-Herald into the digital age and also spearheaded a number of the efforts to increase the technology and its spread throughout the State of Nebraska, different communities. He made the Omaha World-Herald a standard for how newspapers should be run. He himself was known for his integrity and his courage. He was never shy about being direct with a budding politician to let that politician know when he believed that politician might have erred. He was one of those people that cared about the community. As I mentioned, he was a Boy Scout. He served [[Page S7069]] as chairman of our local Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts but also became national president of Boy Scouts of America. He served as chairman of the Board of Governors of the USO, cared about our veterans and wanted to make sure we were serving them, cared about our military people. He also cared about the arts and was chairman of Omaha Performing Arts. He and his wife Carmen cared about people. Together, they fostered more than 100 infants awaiting adoption. John was an outdoorsman and a conservationist. He really was one of those people we would describe as a renaissance man--running a fantastic business, giving back to the community. He was the kind of American that built this country. John passed away last month, leaving a legacy that is having a lasting imprint on our community of Omaha, the State of Nebraska, and indeed our entire country. I greatly admire John Gottschalk for the kind of man he was, the example he set for the rest of us. He will be greatly missed, and I will miss him greatly. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. (Mr. Hickenlooper). The majority whip. ____________________

Referenced legislation: SRES928, SRES928

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HONORING THE LIFE OF NEBRASKA COMMUNITY LEADER JOHN EDMUND GOTTSCHALK Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024) [Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024)] [Senate] [Pages S7068-S7069] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING THE LIFE OF NEBRASKA COMMUNITY LEADER JOHN EDMUND GOTTSCHALK Mr. RICKETTS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to consideration of S. Res. 928, which is at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title. The bill clerk read as follows: A resolution (S. Res. 928) honoring the life of Nebraska community leader John Edmund Gottschalk. There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution. Mr. RICKETTS. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, that the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The resolution (S. Res. 928) was agreed to. The preamble was agreed to. (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'') Mr. RICKETTS. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a great Nebraskan and a great American, John Edmund Gottschalk. John Gottschalk was born in Omaha in 1943 and grew up in a small town in Nebraska called Rushville. He was a Boy Scout, and he went on to attend the University of Nebraska, majoring in political science and journalism. His father started the Sheridan County Star, and John worked there as well, really getting his break into journalism, the newspaper business. In 1972, John bought the Sidney Telegraph in Sidney, NE, and became mayor of the town of Sidney. In 1975, he joined the Omaha World-Herald as an assistant to the president. He eventually worked his way up to become the publisher and CEO in 1998, and he remained that until 2009. Actually, 1989. I got those numbers flipped around. In 1989, he became CEO and publisher. John and his wife Carmen were extraordinary people. John led the Omaha World-Herald into the digital age and also spearheaded a number of the efforts to increase the technology and its spread throughout the State of Nebraska, different communities. He made the Omaha World-Herald a standard for how newspapers should be run. He himself was known for his integrity and his courage. He was never shy about being direct with a budding politician to let that politician know when he believed that politician might have erred. He was one of those people that cared about the community. As I mentioned, he was a Boy Scout. He served [[Page S7069]] as chairman of our local Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts but also became national president of Boy Scouts of America. He served as chairman of the Board of Governors of the USO, cared about our veterans and wanted to make sure we were serving them, cared about our military people. He also cared about the arts and was chairman of Omaha Performing Arts. He and his wife Carmen cared about people. Together, they fostered more than 100 infants awaiting adoption. John was an outdoorsman and a conservationist. He really was one of those people we would describe as a renaissance man--running a fantastic business, giving back to the community. He was the kind of American that built this country. John passed away last month, leaving a legacy that is having a lasting imprint on our community of Omaha, the State of Nebraska, and indeed our entire country. I greatly admire John Gottschalk for the kind of man he was, the example he set for the rest of us. He will be greatly missed, and I will miss him greatly. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. (Mr. Hickenlooper). The majority whip. ____________________ Referenced legislation: SRES928, SRES928