SR449.html

Commending Joey Ledford; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, Joey Ledford graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 1978 with a degree in communications; and

WHEREAS, from 1978 to 1987, he served with the United Press International in Tennessee, where he was Memphis bureau chief in 1980, Alabama state editor in 1981, regional Washington correspondent in 1983, and division news editor in Atlanta in 1984; and

WHEREAS, since 1987, he has been employed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; and

WHEREAS, for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Mr. Ledford writes "The Lane Ranger," a four-times weekly traffic and commuting column, and edits "The Vent," a popular six-day-a-week reader interactive humor column; and

WHEREAS, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was one of the first newspapers in the country to assign a columnist to traffic reporting; and

WHEREAS, traffic safety is an important part of the Lane Ranger column which Mr. Ledford has written since October, 1996; and

WHEREAS, on March 7, 2001, Mr. Ledford was the recipient of the 2001 Excellence in Journalism Award at the seventh annual Safe Driver's Awareness Day for Sharing the Road: Beware Dangerous Drunk, Drugged, and Aggressive Drivers.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body commend Joey Ledford for his contributions and commitment to improving traffic safety in the State of Georgia.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to Joey Ledford.