[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Page 24802]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING LAWRENCE McHUGH

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, in these times of financial 
uncertainty, today I would like to take the time to commend Mr. 
Lawrence McHugh of my State, and to recognize his 25 years of 
leadership at the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce.
  In Larry's quarter century as the president of the organization, 
membership has grown from 282 to a total of 2,400 members who employ 
over 50,000 individuals in central Connecticut.
  The Chamber itself now employs 22 people and increased its annual 
budget from $109,000 in 1983 to over $2 million in 2007.
  Mr. McHugh has served as the president of the Connecticut Association 
of Chamber of Commerce Executives and vice chair of both the 
Connecticut Employment and Training Commission and the Connecticut 
Tourism Council, as well as on many other boards of organizations that 
seek to improve businesses and communities across the State.
  Impressive as these figures may be, the true measure of his 
contributions to his community cannot be measured by statistics or 
figures.
  Larry McHugh has shown remarkable leadership in protecting not only 
the local businesses of central Connecticut, but also the future of our 
State through his extensive work with our youth.
  Following an injury that ended his football career with the AFL's New 
York Titans, Larry took a position as the football coach for Xavier 
High School in Middletown, CT where he spent 20 years inspiring his 
athletes to great success both on and off the field. He would later 
combine his interest in achieving the best for his students and 
athletes with his business savvy in spending 8 years as the head of 
fund raising for Mercy and Xavier High Schools.
  Fortunately for the youth of Connecticut, Larry has continued to 
invest in their futures in the years since his retirement from 
coaching. Under Larry's leadership, the Middlesex County Chamber of 
Commerce has consistently promoted programs seeking to partner 
businesses with the young people of the State, both equipping the youth 
with real life experiences and business opportunities and providing 
local businesses with the ability to reinvest in the futures of their 
companies. Larry has placed a premium on establishing a vital 
connection between businesses and the community's greatest asset--its 
human capital.
  Despite great worries over our national economy, it is of the utmost 
comfort to me to know that the businesses of central Connecticut are 
under the leadership of a man who has a proven record of doing great 
things for his Chamber and for his community. I would like to join my 
voice with those across Connecticut that already speak of his success 
with the greatest respect, and commend Larry McHugh for his 25 years of 
service. His continued focus on the promise of the future convinces me 
that there is none better to be leading the local industries at such a 
time as this.

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