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“HONORING MICHAEL A. McMURPHY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1561 on Nov. 13, 2014.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING MICHAEL A. McMURPHY
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HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN
of maryland
in the house of representatives
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my constituent, Michael A. McMurphy, a longtime resident of Potomac, Maryland, for his lifetime of dedicated service to family, community and country, and I offer my heartfelt congratulations to him on the occasion of his retirement.
Michael McMurphy served honorably for ten years in active duty in the United States Air Force following graduation from the Air Force Academy, after which he continued serving our Nation in the Air Force Reserves, receiving several commendations for his outstanding contributions.
After earning advanced degrees from St. Mary's University and the University of Texas School of Law, he worked in the Office of Chief Counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Operations in Tennessee from 1979 to 1983, where he supported the Department's Uranium Enrichment Enterprise, among other critical areas.
In 1983, he joined COGEMA, Inc. in Bethesda, Maryland as its Secretary and General Counsel, was subsequently promoted to Vice President, and then elected President and Chief Executive Officer in 1988. After COGEMA was merged into the AREVA Group in 2001, he became President and Chief Executive Officer of AREVA NC Inc., and then President of AREVA Inc. in 2003.
In 2008, Mr. McMurphy was appointed Senior Executive Vice President of AREVA's worldwide Front End Business Group, located in Paris, France, and returned to the U.S. in 2013, rejoining AREVA Inc. as Executive Vice President through 2014. Over his tenure, he has won the admiration of his many colleagues and peers and has served on the boards of directors of numerous companies and industry organizations.
For his exceptional contributions to U.S.-France relations and to the important commercial ties between our two countries, he was recognized by the President of France with an appointment to the rank of Chevalier, or knight, in the Ordre national du Merite and then, in 2012, to the rank of Chevalier in the Legion d'honneur, that country's highest civilian honor.
Aside from his professional accomplishments, his greatest achievement, according to his sons Matthew and Kevin, is his love for his wife Maureen--``that's a thing that makes us very proud . . . that holds the family together, and our family has always been close.''
In 2008, Michael and Maureen suffered a tragic loss when their son Patrick, who moved to New York City to pursue his dream of acting, died at the age of 23 from severe head injuries sustained from an accidental fall. Michael and Maureen established the Patrick Michael McMurphy Memorial Foundation in his honor, and they have since done some wonderful work through the foundation to promote the arts, especially theater, film and music. The foundation has benefited the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, where Patrick completed his studies, and is supporting promising young people who would not otherwise be able to pursue the arts with ``life changing'' scholarships, mentoring and counseling.
Michael delighted in his children; his sons fondly recall the sense of humor and commitment with which Michael insisted on playing the part of Cub Scout ``Den Mother,'' an unusual role for a dad in the 1980s, to spend more time with his boys. ``We were proud to be the only boys we knew who had a dad for a Den Mother,'' they have said. Michael loves children as he thinks they only bring joy and humor to his life, and now Michael's joy will be spending greater quality time with his three young grandchildren, perhaps outfitting them with Chuck Taylor high-top All-Star basketball shoes--shoes that bring him back happy memories of his late son, who wore them often.
I thank Michael for his many fine contributions, especially to the business and civic vitality of Maryland, and I wish him much happiness in this new phase of his life.
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