[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 112 (Tuesday, July 12, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1088-E1089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF MR. NEAL W. ALLEN, III

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CHELLIE PINGREE

                                of maine

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 12, 2016

  Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a dedicated 
public servant who has significantly contributed to Maine and our 
communities for more than forty years.
  This July, Neal W. Allen will be retiring as the Executive Director 
of the Greater Portland Council of Governments after 18 years. In this 
role, he has led a regional planning organization that provides support 
to communities across Southern Maine around municipal services, 
transportation & land use, economic development, sustainability, 
housing, and many other issues that impact people in their daily lives.
  At the Council of Governments, Mr. Allen led major initiatives around 
sound governance of the organization, along with the establishment of 
its Sustainability Principles. Those Principles opened new 
opportunities for the region, including a federal HUD Sustainability 
grant that involved more than 40 partners from Kittery to Brunswick. 
The Sustainability Principles also formed a basis for the Council's 
energy planning, electric vehicles initiatives, and designation in the 
U.S. Commerce Department's Investing in Manufacturing Communities 
Partnership.
  Following service in the Coast Guard during the Vietnam era, Mr. 
Allen's career in Maine began in the 1970s, as an Assistant City 
Manager in Portland. Among other contributions to the City, he played a 
key role in establishing Portland's ambulance service, Medcu, the first 
of its kind in Maine. He then went on to serve the City through a 
variety of challenging issues as Acting City Manager and later, as the 
first Executive Director of the waste management organization that is 
now named Eco Maine. That program resulted in the closing of numerous 
open burning landfills and the establishment of a regional system for 
managing solid waste. Along the way, Mr. Allen served a Governor and 
U.S. Senator in various roles, and was the co-recipient, along with 
former Governor Joseph Brennan, of the State of Maine Award in 1983.
  This is just a small sampling of the many ways that Neal Allen made 
our region better. This career is reflective of his commitment to 
public service and to the notion that practical, local collaboration 
can make a big difference in the daily lives of people in our 
communities. I doubt that this retirement will be the last word on his 
contributions to our community.
  Mr. Speaker, I truly admire Mr. Allen for his long and devoted 
service to Maine, and would

[[Page E1089]]

like to thank him for the difference he has made in the lives of 
Mainers.

                          ____________________