[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 55 (Thursday, April 5, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E392-E393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF CHARISE McHUGH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 5, 2018

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Charise McHugh, an 
outstanding community leader and entrepreneur who has led the Half Moon 
Bay Chamber of Commerce and Visitors' Bureau for the last 22 years. 
Charise will retire from that role in the fall but she will leave 
behind a legacy that will continue to shape the fabric of the Coastside 
for decades to come. I have been privileged to work with Charise for 
all these years and to call her a friend. She has always amazed me with 
her energy and can-do philosophy.
  Half Moon Bay has about 12,000 residents and the unincorporated 
county areas nearby has again that many residents. During her time with 
the Chamber in this charming coastal region, Charise has achieved a 
remarkable and diverse list of accomplishments. She founded the Hotel 
BID and the only broad-based ecotourism program in the state. She 
started the Coastside Emergency Action Program, a disaster preparedness 
plan for San Mateo County and she was instrumental m bringing STEM 
Robotics to local schools. Charise also deserves credit for producing 
the Silver Medal Award Business Directory. Half Moon Bay residents and 
visitors can thank her for starting bus service on the coast, for 
planting Highway 1 medians and for getting the attractive directional 
signs on Main Street installed.
  Charise loves her home town and the coast with a passion that is 
infectious. Her inexhaustible creativity and hard work have resulted in 
a Chamber membership that has soared from 330 businesses to 720 
businesses during her tenure. Chamber mixers are highly popular. 
Charise will tell you that she enjoys her job so much because it is so 
diverse, but in truth she is the one who is making it diverse. She 
works with businesses,

[[Page E393]]

non-profits and government and is a masterful networker. She has her 
hands in publishing, website design, video production, event planning, 
business development, beautification, hospitality, you name it. There 
is no task Charise won't tackle.
  A San Mateo County native, Charise earned her BA from Notre Dame de 
Namur University and the University of California, Davis. She has been 
married to her beloved husband Jack for 35 years and they have three 
children, Byron, Tamara and Josh, and six grandchildren, Annabelle, 
Sadie, Jacob, Chloe, Jaden and Asha.
  Charise announced that she will retire this year, but she won't leave 
her post until she can help one more time with the Pumpkin Festival, 
one of Half Moon Bay's signature events that draws hundreds of 
thousands of people to the coast. After that, she will do some 
consulting work. That is Charise, never idle and always engaged.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to 
honor Charise McHugh for her exceptional service to her community. She 
has transformed the Chamber of Commerce into a powerhouse that has 
helped make Half Moon Bay into a destination. Residents and visitors 
alike benefit from her contributions every day and will continue to do 
so for years to come.

                          ____________________