[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7492]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   IN RECOGNITION OF MIKE HEALY ON HIS SERVICE TO THE BAY AREA RAPID 
                            TRANSIT DISTRICT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ELLEN O. TAUSCHER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2004

  Mrs. TAUSCHER. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the members of the San 
Francisco Bay Area Congressional Delegation, including Representatives 
Stark, Pelosi, Miller, Lee, Lantos, Lofgren, Honda, Eshoo, Pombo, 
Woolsey and Thompson, I rise to pay tribute to Mike Healy, Department 
Manager of Media and Public Affairs for the Bay Area Rapid Transit 
(BART) District. For his steadfast commitment and dedication as the 
face and voice of BART, even before the system carried a single 
passenger, we would like to thank Mike Healy and wish him well in his 
retirement. His thirty-two years of energetic leadership at BART have 
helped shape one of the largest and most vital mass transit systems in 
the United States for the better, for all of those who call the San 
Francisco Bay Area home.
  Born in South Bend, Indiana, Mike Healy was raised in Los Angeles and 
graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor's 
Degree in Journalism and Telecommunications. Though initially more 
interested in writing screenplays for movie studios during his early 
career, it was transportation that was destined to attract and retain 
his attention.
  When BART first hired Mike Healy, he was told his tenure there would 
most likely end before six months had passed. Instead, Mike Healy has 
worked for six different general managers and many more elected 
directors since he first began work for the system in 1971.
  During Mike Healy's tenure at the transit district, directing media 
and public affairs, BART has gone from serving 17,000 passengers daily 
to more than 300,000. As the service added more patrons and more 
trains, the need to communicate quickly and effectively with the public 
and media took on added significance. Reaching such a large and complex 
audience was at times a monumental task, but one to which Mike Healy 
never faltered. Indeed, his calm professionalism serves as a model for 
public relations to countless transit systems throughout the nation.
  He is most often remembered for his striking performance during the 
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. It was, as has been said, BART's ``shining 
hour.'' BART was shown to be indispensable to the region. When the Bay 
Bridge failed, BART was there. And Mike Healy's reassuring voice told 
an uncertain public that BART would be there to help the Bay Area move 
past the wide reaching natural disaster. He was right.
  Mike Healy has contributed his energy to serving the people in so 
many ways. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Oakland 
Visitors and Conventions Authority and has worked with the American 
Public Transportation Association (APTA) as Chair of its National 
Public Affairs and Community Relations Committee.
  It has been our great pleasure to have worked with Mike Healy over 
the years on transit issues affecting our great region. He has been a 
supportive colleague and a good friend. We wish him and his wife, Joan, 
best wishes in their future endeavors together.
  Mike Healy has made a singularly unique and constructive impact upon 
the lives of those who live, work, play in and visit the communities of 
the Bay Area. He has been an invaluable servant to the public. It is 
with honor that we commend Mike Healy for his 32 years of service and 
for his contribution in making travel easier for millions of people in 
one of the most populous metropolitan areas in America.

                          ____________________