[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 137 (Monday, October 6, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S10444]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO EILEEN FOLEY, MAYOR OF PORTSMOUTH.

 Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I rise today to 
honor Mayor Eileen Foley, a remarkable and dedicated leader from 
Portsmouth, NH. Mayor Foley, Portsmouth's favorite daughter, has 
announced her retirement from the office of mayor after serving 10 
consecutive years. She has demonstrated tremendous leadership and 
guidance to a countless number of people. A special era of service and 
dedication has come to an end with Mayor Foley's retirement.
  Mayor Foley, 79, has served the city in the top seat at various times 
for a total of more than 16 years. Her long history of city service 
began as a teenager, when she and her sisters helped their mother, Mary 
Carey Foley, in her mayoral campaign. The elder Foley served as the 
city's first woman mayor between 1945-47.
  Eileen Foley continued the tradition by submersing herself in a 
career of dedicated public service, first in the Women's Army Corps in 
1944 and later as State senator, Portsmouth City Counselor and School 
Board member. As mayor, she has served many terms, between 1968-72, 
again in 1984-85, and then again in 1988 until the present.
  Mayor Foley, in her long years of public service, became identified 
with the very city of Portsmouth in the minds of local constituents, as 
well as government officials and business people far and wide. She has 
always acted as a kind of concerned and caring mother and goodwill 
ambassador, speaking at clambakes and ribbon cuttings, lending her 
support to civic, cultural, veterans, and charitable organizations, and 
representing the city around the State and at such distant locations as 
Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland and Nichinon in Japan.
  Over the years, Mayor Foley has been honored by many, including being 
named as 1 of the 10 most powerful women in the State by a statewide 
business magazine, as well as being honored with a lifetime achievement 
award by the Portsmouth Rotary.
  Mayor Foley will continue to serve on appointed boards, be visible 
around town, and take an active interest in city affairs, for it is 
hard to leave the public eye after earning the respect and admiration 
of so many.
  Certain people are made to serve the public. Mayor Foley is such a 
person, epitomizing the term public servant. Her service to the town of 
Portsmouth, NH, its people and to the State of New Hampshire is nothing 
short of appreciative and commendable. Mr. President, as a public 
servant myself I understand the amount of time, heart, and dedication 
required each and every day. Mayor Foley has served the public, not out 
of force, but out of love and compassion for the people, demonstrating 
immense heart and dedication. Mayor Foley will be missed as her public 
legacy comes to an end.

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