[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 169 (Saturday, December 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              JIM MULDOON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 17, 2010

  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements 
of my good friend James (Jim) Muldoon for his commitment, leadership, 
and achievements in the field of recreational boating and boating 
safety. I would like to express my appreciation for his dedication to 
making sailing accessible for everyone, regardless of economic status 
and physical or intellectual ability.
  Mr. Muldoon grew up in Gary, Indiana and didn't learn how to sail 
until he finished his Air Force service and graduated from the 
University of Maryland. Since then, Muldoon has been an advocate of 
community sailing programs at the grassroots level, especially in the 
areas of youth sailing, training, and safety. He has long been actively 
involved in international sailing and boating-related organizations. He 
has captained his own 73-foot yacht, DONNYBROOK, with a highly 
competitive amateur team in hundreds of races and has accrued over 
75,000 miles of ocean racing.
  In August, more than two dozen, sailing and boating-related 
organizations assembled to honor Mr. Muldoon for his lifelong 
contributions to boating safety. During the ceremony, Martin O'Malley, 
Governor of Maryland, awarded Mr. Muldoon with the Chesapeake Bay 
Ambassador Award. Peter Franchot, Comptroller of the State of Maryland 
also presented Mr. Muldoon with a Certificate of Recognition for his 
outstanding contributions to the State. Organizations paying tribute to 
Mr. Muldoon included the U.S. Coast Guard, Special Olympics of 
Maryland, American Red Cross, Annapolis Community Boating, Annapolis 
Community Foundation, Annapolis Sailing School, Chesapeake Bay Yacht 
Racing Association, Coast Guard Foundation, Downtown Sailing Center 
Baltimore, Kidship, National Association of State Boating Law 
Administrators, National Boating Federation, National Boating Safety 
Advisory Council, National Maritime Heritage Foundation, National Safe 
Boating Council, National Sailing Hall of Fame, National Water Safety 
Congress, Sailing Center Chesapeakei, Shearwater Sailing Club, Spirit 
of America, United Safe Boating Institute, United States Coast Guard 
Auxiliary, United States Power Squadrons, and United States Sailing 
Association (US SAILING), join together to honor Mr. Muldoon's 
contributions to the sailing world.
  Shelia Hixson, the chair of the Ways and Means Committee of the 
Maryland House of Delegates, presided over the ceremony and said, ``We 
have no doubt that Mr. Muldoon will make many more contributions to the 
recreational boating community in years to come, but we wanted to take 
this opportunity to thank him for all he has done over the past four 
decades.''
  In October, US SAILING awarded Mr. Muldoon its most prestigious 
award, the Nathanael G. Herreshoff trophy, for his outstanding 
contributions to the sport of sailing in the U.S. over many years. 
Since being founded in 1897, U.S. SAILING has been the national 
governing body (NGB) for sailing and provides leadership for the sport 
in the United States. Past winners of the Herreshoff trophy have 
included Harold Sterling Vanderbilt, Harry C. Melges Jr., Gary Jobson, 
and Roy E. Disney.
  US SAILING has also awarded Mr. Muldoon the Timothea Larr trophy for 
the outstanding vision and guidance he has provided to the advancement 
of sailor education in the United States. The president of US SAILING, 
Gary Jobson, said that Mr. Muldoon ``has been and always will be an 
outstanding asset to US SAILING and the general sailing community.''
  Mr. Muldoon has held more than 30 leadership positions over the years 
including the following: chair of the Department of Homeland Security's 
National Boating Safety Advisory Council, member of the Board of 
Directors and chair of the Development Committee for the Coast Guard 
Foundation, founder and president of the Brendan Sailing Training 
Program for Youth with Learning Differences, founding board member and 
vice president of the National Sailing Hall of Fame, and president, 
vice president of the Government Relations Committee, administrative 
division director, and chairman of the Training Committee for US 
SAILING.
  As chairman of the National Boating Safety Advisory Council for 
eleven years, Mr. Muldoon has influenced the direction of boating 
safety and increased the awareness and value of on-the-water skills-
based training.
  I have the honor of serving with my friend, Jim Muldoon, on the Board 
of Trustees of St. Mary's College of Maryland. He has been an 
outstanding Chairman of the Board and continues to contribute his 
talent, vision and resources to the growth and excellence of Maryland's 
Honors College. While at St. Mary's, he supported the sailing program 
and collegiate team. His generosity enabled the school to build its new 
sailing center which is the training center for St. Mary's 2010 
national championship sailing team, as well as, a center with classroom 
facilities for sailing classes and where any student, faculty or staff 
member can learn to sail free of charge or use the college boats. St. 
Mary's sailing coach Adam Werblow said ``Thanks to Mr. Muldoon's 
passion, vision, and drive, [St. Mary's] now has the best sailing 
center in the country.''

  Mr. Muldoon also facilitated an agreement between St. Mary's College 
and National Water Safety Congress where Spirit of America's boating 
safety courses are taught to middle school students.
  Mr. Muldoon founded the Brendan Sail Training Program for Youth with 
Learning Differences. Through this program, he has been able to make 
sailors out of a lot of people who wouldn't have otherwise had the 
opportunity.
  He has contributed greatly to the Special Olympics Maryland by 
initiating training Special Olympians and their coaches to sail large 
yachts in addition to small crafts. This year, for the first time, a 
boat crewed completely by Special Olympians competed in the Governor's 
Cup Race. Patricia Fegan, president and CEO of Special Olympics 
Maryland said, ``Jim has not only donated his boat for Special Olympics 
Maryland fundraising auctions but he also came to Special Olympics 
Maryland with the idea of having Special Olympians sail aboard his boat 
on major bay races.''
  He established a National Faculty; while he was chairman of US 
SAILING's Training Committee, which has become the curriculum and 
standards development engine for the education and training of 
students, instructors, coaches, and instructor trainers.
  He also was a key player in the development and funding approval of 
US SAILING's national keelboat training and certification program.
  Mr. Muldoon is credited with significantly strengthening US SAILING's 
partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard. According to Captain Mark Rizzo, 
chief of the Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety for the U.S. Coast 
Guard, Muldoon is ``one of the Coast Guard's most caring and 
compassionate partners.'' He assisted with the development of the U.S. 
Coast Guard's Strategic Plan of the National Recreational Boating 
Safety Program and most recently he advised the U.S. Coast Guard and 
its Boating Safety Division that on-the-water skills based training is 
necessary to increase safety and reduce accidents and fatalities. As a 
result, more Coast Guard nonprofit grants are being directed toward 
funding on-the-water programs instead of the previous reliance on 
classroom only courses and publication of safety brochures.
  He currently resides in Washington, DC, with his wife Linda. They 
have one son, two daughters, and five grandchildren.
  I commend Jim Muldoon for his commitment to the sailing and boating 
safety community. As evidenced, Jim Muldoon has made tremendous 
contributions to the boating community and it is an honor to represent 
someone who has been such a prominent figure in the area of community 
sailing education throughout the past four decades and will continue to 
make many more contributions in years to come.

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