[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 36 (Wednesday, March 19, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E519-E520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 MARY MULHOLLAND: THE SPIRIT OF SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 19, 1997

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mary 
Mulholland, an extraordinary woman from Morris County, NJ, for her 
years of dedicated service to the people of our county and State.
  Mr. Speaker, there is hardly a person in Morris County who has not 
been touched by the innate kindness of Mary Mulholland. Over the years, 
she has been ever present in the many volunteer and service 
organizations that make our county one of America's most wonderful 
places to live, work and raise a family.
  Educated at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Convent Station, Mary 
went on to work for the New York Telephone Co. soon thereafter. By the 
1950's she was married and raising six children with her husband, the 
late Dr. Robert E. Mulholland. Yet somehow, Mary found the time to 
become involved in community service. True to form, Mary jumped in with 
both feet and before long she helped found the Morris County Aftercare 
Clinic and the Dope Open, Inc., which became the first in a long line 
of public service commitments she would lead.
  Mary devotes her time to numerous organizations, including St. Clares 
Riverside Foundation, Dover General Hospital and Medical

[[Page E520]]

Center, Hope House, the College of Saint Elizabeth, Centenary College, 
the United Way, the Easter Seal Society and even the Governor's 
Advisory Council for Drug/Alcohol Abuse. However, nowhere is her 
presence more evident than at the Dope Open, Inc., of which she is the 
founder and president. In three decades with the Dope Open, she has, 
through her charming personality, conviction and absolute tenacity, 
raised more than $1 million to fight drug abuse and chemical 
dependency. Each year, Mary continues her relentless battle to help 
juveniles in our community who have been robbed of their youth and 
innocence by the scourge of drugs. The Dope Open provides hope for 
these lost children and I am certain that without Mary's foresight, 
fortitude and dedication to this effort, many of them would have 
nowhere to turn.
  The one thing everyone who knows Mary can agree on is that a person 
cannot help but be energized into action when she speaks. When Mary 
decides to take on a commitment to help people in our community, she 
installs in all of us a sense of urgency about the issue--a sort of 
call to arms. And Mary is no figurehead, she provides both the spark, 
dynamism and energy needed to take on any task, no matter how daunting 
or demanding. To that end, she does us all a public service by bringing 
out our own compassion and sense of duty to help our less fortunate 
neighbors.
  Mr. Speaker, each day, thanks to the Herculean efforts of Mary 
Mulholland, the future of Morris County is a little more promising. 
Mary Mulholland truly embodies the spirit of service and I thank her 
for all she has done for our community throughout the years.

                          ____________________