[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 182 (Monday, November 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6820-S6821]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO DANA CONNORS

 Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, it is a great pleasure to join 
people throughout the State of Maine in thanking Dana Connors for a 
remarkable career of nearly six decades of devoted service and lasting 
contributions in government and the private sector. In addition to 
being an outstanding leader, Dana is a cherished friend to me and so 
many others.
  I first met Dana when I was working for Bill Cohen in Washington and 
he was the city manager of Presque Isle, a position he held for 16 
years. Both of us are natives of Aroostook County, so we have always 
had that special county bond.
  Years later, we served together in Governor John McKernan's cabinet, 
where he was commissioner of transportation. Everyone who worked with 
Dana during his 11 years in that challenging role was in awe of the 
fact that Dana could go into any meeting, and no matter how unhappy the 
people might be about the condition of a road or bridge in their 
community, they inevitably came out smiling. He just had a knack, which 
he still has, of always listening to people and making them feel 
valued.
  From there, Dana stepped forward to serve as president of the 
chamber. Throughout his nearly 30 years of leadership, he has shown a 
deep understanding of the role of businesses in our State, particularly 
those that are owned by families. He is a staunch supporter of Maine's 
traditional industries, including farming, fishing, and forestry, and a 
champion of such emerging industries as advanced manufacturing and 
biotechnology.
  What motivates Dana are his love for our State, his belief in our 
communities, and his deep affection for our hard-working, ingenious, 
and determined people. He understands the importance of creating an 
environment that is conducive to small businesses starting up, growing, 
and expanding. Above all, Dana is passionate about ensuring that 
Mainers have good jobs and are able to stay right here in Maine. There 
is no better demonstration of this desire than his strong and effective 
advocacy for vocational education, apprenticeships, and other programs 
that provide Mainers with skills that are in demand by Maine employers.
  I am especially grateful to Dana for the advice he provided during 
the pandemic as I was drafting the Paycheck Protection Program. I knew 
I could turn to him for guidance on how it should be crafted and what 
would work best to help our small employers remain in business and 
continue to pay their employees. Dana was truly an invaluable resource 
during that crisis.
  There is one special memory of Dana that I want to share. In 2016, he 
brought together all five of Maine's living U.S. Senators--George 
Mitchell, Bill Cohen, Olympia Snowe, Angus King, and me--for a forum 
about public confidence in government and bipartisanship. It is a 
testament to the enduring relationships Dana has forged and the respect 
he has earned from members of both parties that he was able to convince 
all five former and current Senators to come to the same event on the 
same night.
  There is another part to that story that says so much about Dana. At 
the

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time, my husband, Tom Daffron, was teaching a class at the University 
of Maine. He told Dana that the Senators forum would be a wonderful 
event for students to attend, but they could not afford to pay for the 
dinner. Dana quickly devised a solution. He offered students the 
opportunity to volunteer at the event, which would allow them to attend 
for free. Those students were absolutely thrilled to see five Maine 
Senators on the same stage discussing the issues of the day, all 
because of Dana's generosity and his caring for the next generation.
  Dana has made such a positive difference for Maine in all of the 
positions he has held. His legacy is that Maine is an even better place 
to live, raise a family, and start a business. He has done so much, and 
I know that there is another chapter yet to come. In the meantime 
however, I offer my very best wishes to Dana and his wife, Joyce, and 
my deepest thanks.

                          ____________________