[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 27, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE RETIREMENT OF SPIROS DROGGITIS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 27, 2012

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Spiros Droggitis, a 
Bethesda, Maryland resident who retired from the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission on December 31, 2011 after 35 years of service in 
the Federal Government, including three years working in the U.S. 
Senate. During his three decades with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Mr. Droggitis provided support, advice, scheduling and 
planning for a variety of programs and two NRC Commissioners.
  Since July 2007, Mr. Droggitis served as associate director for 
Federal and External Affairs in the Office of Congressional Affairs at 
NRC. In that position, he was the primary point of contact for 
communications and outreach with other Federal agencies and external 
organizations, including public interest groups, non-governmental 
organizations, and the nuclear industry.
  During his distinguished career at the agency, he served in several 
senior positions and received numerous performance awards and accolades 
for his contributions. Among his many accomplishments, he was 
recognized in 1988 for his participation in the agency's 10-year effort 
to consolidate NRC offices scattered across the Washington metropolitan 
area to a single location in Rockville, Maryland. More recently, he was 
a member of the Headquarters Fukushima Support Team that assisted in 
communicating information about the nuclear accident in Japan following 
the March 11, 2011 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
  After graduating in 1974 from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, 
Mr. Droggitis began his career as an assistant press liaison for the 
U.S. Senate under the Sergeant-at-Arms and also worked as a researcher 
in the office of Senator Edmund S. Muskie of Maine. He later joined 
Senator Muskie's staff full time as a personal assistant during the 
1976 reelection campaign, doing advance work for campaign events, 
traveling with the Senator, and interacting with the media and the 
public. Following the election, he became an assistant to the Senator 
and was given a special assignment analyzing data on a state-wide 
energy questionnaire. He also developed a method of providing more 
timely responses to constituent mail that was approved and instituted 
by his supervisor.
  Mr. Droggitis joined the NRC in 1979 as a congressional liaison 
officer in the Office of Congressional Affairs. He then served as a 
special assistant to Commissioner James K. Asselstine from 1982 until 
1987. At the end of Commissioner Asselstine's term in 1987, Mr. 
Droggitis went to work in the State, Local and Indian Tribe Programs in 
the Office of Governmental and Public Affairs, where he served as a 
senior intergovernmental programs analyst responsible for developing 
and maintaining relationships with state, local and tribal governments. 
Mr. Droggitis was selected as special assistant to Commissioner Jeffrey 
S. Merrifield in September 2002 and became his executive assistant in 
October 2004.
  Throughout his career, Mr. Droggitis has demonstrated a dedication to 
the NRC's organizational values of integrity, service, openness, 
commitment, cooperation, excellence and respect. He and his wife, 
Ottilie, plan to return to his native state of Maine to spend time with 
friends and family. I offer both of them my best wishes and thank Mr. 
Droggitis for his service to our nation.

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