HR696 Summary

• H. Brandt Ayers, Chairman and Publisher of Consolidated Publishing Company, will deliver the Harry M. & Edel Y. Ayers Lecture at Jacksonville State University on March 25, 2010.

• The Ayers Lecture Series, named after Mr. Ayers' parents, began in 1988 and has featured notable journalists including Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Howell Raines, Judy Woodruff, and Rick Bragg; Mr. Ayers' lecture topic is "50 Controversy-Free Years as an Alabama Journalist."

• Mr. Ayers is a native of Anniston and University of Alabama graduate who served two years in the United States Navy before establishing a distinguished journalism career as a reporter, correspondent, and publisher of multiple Alabama newspapers.

• Mr. Ayers received numerous professional and civic awards, including Nieman Fellow status at Harvard University, Gannett Fellow status at Columbia University, and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1996.

• The House of Representatives honors H. Brandt Ayers for his life, career, and accomplishments and extends sincere best wishes for continued success.