[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 106 (Thursday, July 26, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 26, 2001

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, our country has undergone dramatic changes 
in recent years, including continued urbanization of the American West. 
I would like to thank Michael Martin Murphey for his leadership in the 
crucial movement toward the preservation of our Western heritage.
  Michael is blessed with many talents, which he has applied to promote 
this cause. He is best known for his extensive musical ability, which 
has earned him countless awards and fans. His Pop and Country music 
have made him an award-winning artist in those areas, and his American 
Cowboy Music is the top-seller of its genre. For example, Michael's 
hit, ``Wildfire'' is one of the ``most-played songs in the history of 
radio'' according to the Murphey Western Institute of Oklahoma at 
Medicine Park. In addition, ``he is a five-time award winner in The 
National Cowboy Hall of Fame,'' and The Academy of Western Artists 
awarded him 1999 Best Album and Best Song. Michael conveys the essence 
of the West through his music, allowing his audience to experience the 
West, rather than only to read about it.
  In addition to utilizing his musical ability, Michael has sprung into 
action using his relationship with Western land issues, his leadership 
skills, and his writing ability to get the word out about the 
preservation of Western heritage and culture. He is publisher of The 
American West magazine, for which he writes articles supporting his 
cause, and he is currently working on his first book. He also started 
what Country Music Magazine called ``the best festival in the US,'' the 
Westfest, located in Vail, Colorado. This festival celebrates 
``Cowboys, Indians, Country and Western music, Rodeo, Western Art and 
the world of the American West.'' Michael understands the need to help 
people experience the West, empowering them to incorporate Western 
heritage into their own lives. Along those same lines, he recently 
established the Murphey Western Institute, a not-for-profit foundation 
``dedicated to the promotion, preservation and perpetuation of the 
culture and heritage of the American West through research, education, 
recreation and entertainment.''
  Mr. Speaker, Michael Martin Murphey is a man of conviction, and a man 
whose tireless endeavors have reached millions. I would like to pay him 
tribute for all that he has done to preserve and promote the American 
West, a significant aspect of our nation's history, and one of the most 
precious aspects of our American heritage.

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