[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 31, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1657]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL J. DONOGHUE, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF THE WORCESTER 
                       REGIONAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM

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                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 30, 2007

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear 
friend and a devoted public servant. Michael J. Donoghue will 
officially retire tomorrow as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 
the Worcester Regional Retirement System, marking the end of a 
distinguished career in which he has ably served the citizens of my 
hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts and all of Worcester County.
  For more than thirty years, Mike Donoghue managed a $400 million 
pension system comprised of fifty Worcester County communities and 
another forty-five school districts. During that time, he vigorously 
protected the retirement security of thousands of public employees with 
an uncommon care and concern for their future hopes and dreams. 
Throughout his tenure, Mike made it his business to personally know the 
individual members of the Worcester Regional Retirement System and 
steadfastly refused to allow the pensioners to become anonymous 
participants in a cold actuarial exercise. Mike's unfailing loyalty to 
his membership will forever be remembered as the hallmark of his 
remarkable public service.
  It also bears noting that Mike Donoghue's contributions to the 
greater Worcester community extend far beyond the management of the 
Worcester Regional Retirement System. Mike served two terms on the 
Worcester City Council before being elected Worcester County Treasurer 
in 1978. Mike's unique combination of insight, skill and common sense 
made him a coveted board member for virtually every major civic and 
charitable organization in the City of Worcester. He has served on the 
board of directors for the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce and 
the Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI). Mike's expertise and 
leadership helped establish Worcester as a center for medical research 
more than twenty-five years ago and the Gateway Park Project which is 
right now transforming a former brownfield site in Worcester into 
another major biomedical research park is also due in no small part to 
his efforts. Mike's compassion for the less fortunate has caused him to 
also lend his talents to the Board of Directors for the VNA Network 
Foundation, the Worcester Area Mental Health Association, the Worcester 
Area United Way and the Special Olympics of Massachusetts. After the 
devastating Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire in 1999, Mike was a 
natural choice to help the City commemorate the sacrifice of the six 
fallen firefighters and was appointed to chair the Worcester 
Firefighters Memorial Committee. He remains committed to that effort 
today as an active board member.
  A man of deep religious faith, Mike has also given to his community 
through his church as a former member of the Board of Incorporators of 
Catholic Charities for the Worcester Diocese and Saint Vincent's 
Hospital. A proud graduate of Nichols College, Mike has had the special 
privilege of serving as a trustee for his alma mater.
  Madam Speaker, all of us in public service share a special bond 
forged by the great demands, challenges and rewards of our profession. 
In the finest traditions of our noble calling, Michael J. Donoghue has 
proven himself worthy of the respect and admiration he enjoys from his 
colleagues in government. I will always be grateful for his sage advice 
and loyal friendship as will my colleague, U.S. Senator Edward M. 
Kennedy, who has long relied on Mike as a trusted advisor and 
confidant. I know Senator Kennedy joins me in expressing the heartfelt 
appreciation of the United States Congress to Michael J. Donoghue on 
this occasion and we wish him, his wife Maureen, and their beautiful 
children and grandchildren continued best wishes for a happy and 
healthy retirement. You, my friend, have earned it.

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