[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8261]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO JOHN M. CONNORS, JR.

  Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts. Mr. President, I rise today in tribute to 
John M. ``Jack'' Connors, Jr., of Brookline, MA, a larger-than-life 
figure in a region with quite a few outsized personalities. A 
Massachusetts native, he grew up in the Roslindale section of Boston 
and graduated from Boston College. A born go-getter, to help pay for 
college Jack landed one of the greatest jobs in New England--selling 
hotdogs and peanuts at Fenway Park.
  Not long after graduation, Jack cofounded Boston's Hill Holliday ad 
agency and spent the better part of 30 years as an ad man. Now a part 
of the Interpublic Group of Companies, Jack remains chairman emeritus 
of this leading agency. He is a fierce competitor in business and built 
hugely successful and profitable enterprises that employ tens of 
thousands and have contributed billions to the regional economy. In 
July, Jack will step down after a phenomenally successful 17-year 
tenure as chairman of the board of Partners Health Care Systems.
  Partners began with the merger of two of our Nation's leading 
teaching hospitals, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and 
Women's Hospital. Of course, the real work of any merger comes after 
the deal is signed, and when Jack was elected chairman of Partners' 
board in 1996, he helped lead the integration and growth of the new 
not-for-profit network.
  Today, Partners is the largest health care network in Massachusetts, 
and with over 50,000 employees, the State's largest private employer. 
It is also one of our Nation's great medical research centers. In fact, 
Partners is the largest recipient of National Institutes of Health 
research grants, a testament to their world-class scientists and 
facilities.
  Jack serves on the boards of many companies and organizations, 
including Covidien and Hasbro. He is also a trustee of Emmanuel 
College, his alma mater Boston College, and is a member of Harvard 
Medical School's Board of Fellows.
  Throughout his career, Jack has been a relentless fighter for the 
less fortunate in the Boston area. From an early age, Jack worked 
closely with Boston's leading charities, often providing pro bono ad 
work for these nonprofits. Jack seemed to always know that any true 
measure of a successful life must include helping others.
  Jack worked tirelessly to save many of the Boston Archdiocese's 
struggling schools. As a businessman, he knew that rescuing these 
schools required more than throwing money at the problem--and by some 
estimates, Jack raised about $70 million for the cause--it also 
required a more businesslike approach to running these schools. So Jack 
encouraged the archdiocese to build parochial academies such as Pope 
John Paul II Catholic Academy that serve more than one parish. These 
academies are now models of primary education and well over 95 percent 
of their students go on to college.
  Over the years, Jack worked closely with Boston Mayor Tom Menino on a 
number of important projects to help enrich the lives of at-risk youth. 
Among their more ambitious--and hugely successful--is Camp Harbor View. 
This partnership with the city and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston 
has, in a few short years, created a summer haven for nearly 800 young 
people on Long Island off Quincy, MA. This remarkable program has a 
full-time staff which stays in contact with campers and their families 
during the school year.
  In closing, it is a privilege for me to join Jack's friends, family, 
and colleagues in congratulating him on his retirement from Partners. 
And though Jack will be leaving Partners, we can be sure he will 
continue to have a larger-than-life presence in the educational, 
cultural, and business life of Boston. I thank Jack for his tremendous 
service to the people of Massachusetts and wish him and his wife Eileen 
all the best in the years ahead.

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