[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 138 (Thursday, November 13, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING MICHAEL A. McMURPHY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 13, 2014

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my 
constituent, Michael A. McMurphy, a longtime resident of Potomac, 
Maryland, for his lifetime of dedicated service to family, community 
and country, and I offer my heartfelt congratulations to him on the 
occasion of his retirement.
  Michael McMurphy served honorably for ten years in active duty in the 
United States Air Force following graduation from the Air Force 
Academy, after which he continued serving our Nation in the Air Force 
Reserves, receiving several commendations for his outstanding 
contributions.
  After earning advanced degrees from St. Mary's University and the 
University of Texas School of Law, he worked in the Office of Chief 
Counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Operations in 
Tennessee from 1979 to 1983, where he supported the Department's 
Uranium Enrichment Enterprise, among other critical areas.
  In 1983, he joined COGEMA, Inc. in Bethesda, Maryland as its 
Secretary and General Counsel, was subsequently promoted to Vice 
President, and then elected President and Chief Executive Officer in 
1988. After COGEMA was merged into the AREVA Group in 2001, he became 
President and Chief Executive Officer of AREVA NC Inc., and then 
President of AREVA Inc. in 2003.
  In 2008, Mr. McMurphy was appointed Senior Executive Vice President 
of AREVA's worldwide Front End Business Group, located in Paris, 
France, and returned to the U.S. in 2013, rejoining AREVA Inc. as 
Executive Vice President through 2014. Over his tenure, he has won the 
admiration of his many colleagues and peers and has served on the 
boards of directors of numerous companies and industry organizations.
  For his exceptional contributions to U.S.-France relations and to the 
important commercial ties between our two countries, he was recognized 
by the President of France with an appointment to the rank of 
Chevalier, or knight, in the Ordre national du Merite and then, in 
2012, to the rank of Chevalier in the Legion d'honneur, that country's 
highest civilian honor.
  Aside from his professional accomplishments, his greatest 
achievement, according to his sons Matthew and Kevin, is his love for 
his wife Maureen--``that's a thing that makes us very proud . . . that 
holds the family together, and our family has always been close.''
  In 2008, Michael and Maureen suffered a tragic loss when their son 
Patrick, who moved to New York City to pursue his dream of acting, died 
at the age of 23 from severe head injuries sustained from an accidental 
fall. Michael and Maureen established the Patrick Michael McMurphy 
Memorial Foundation in his honor, and they have since done some 
wonderful work through the foundation to promote the arts, especially 
theater, film and music. The foundation has benefited the Stella Adler 
Studio of Acting, where Patrick completed his studies, and is 
supporting promising young people who would not otherwise be able to 
pursue the arts with ``life changing'' scholarships, mentoring and 
counseling.
  Michael delighted in his children; his sons fondly recall the sense 
of humor and commitment with which Michael insisted on playing the part 
of Cub Scout ``Den Mother,'' an unusual role for a dad in the 1980s, to 
spend more time with his boys. ``We were proud to be the only boys we 
knew who had a dad for a Den Mother,'' they have said. Michael loves 
children as he thinks they only bring joy and humor to his life, and 
now Michael's joy will be spending greater quality time with his three 
young grandchildren, perhaps outfitting them with Chuck Taylor high-top 
All-Star basketball shoes--shoes that bring him back happy memories of 
his late son, who wore them often.
  I thank Michael for his many fine contributions, especially to the 
business and civic vitality of Maryland, and I wish him much happiness 
in this new phase of his life.

                          ____________________