[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 10473]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO ALAN LEVIN

  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, today I wish to honor someone I have had 
the privilege of calling a friend for many years and who is retiring 
after serving the State of Delaware for the past 6 years, Alan Levin. 
Alan and I both had our first tours of duty in Washington working for 
the same Republican Senator. I was an intern for Senator William Roth 
in the early 1980s and Alan was his counsel in the mid-1980s. Alan, a 
well-known and respected statewide leader in Delaware's Republican 
Party, has, since 2009, served as the director of the Delaware Economic 
Development Office, where he has worked every day to attract businesses 
to Delaware and to help them create good jobs in our communities.
  Alan took over at a time when communities throughout Delaware were 
hemorrhaging jobs and feeling the very worst effects of the great 
recession. Today Delaware's unemployment rate sits a full point below 
the national average at 4.5 percent, in part thanks to the great effort 
of Alan Levin's.
  During his tenure, Alan exemplified what it means to be a public 
servant. It didn't matter to Alan if someone came to him who was 
thinking of starting a small business that would employ 4 people or if 
it was a company thinking of moving to Delaware and bringing 400 jobs. 
No matter what, if it was going to help Delaware, Alan was ready to 
meet with anyone and show them why there was no better place than the 
First State, our home State of Delaware, to run a business.
  Of course, Alan's service to our State began well before 2009. Long a 
leader in the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce for more than two 
decades, Alan ran Happy Harry's Pharmacy, a family business that he 
grew over decades of discipline and capable leadership, ultimately 
expanding it to 76 stores in our region. That success is an important 
part of who Alan is, because to really know him is to know that his job 
at the Delaware Economic Development Office was not one he needed; it 
was one he chose.
  Alan could have continued and built his success in the business 
world--anyone could tell you that--but he made a decision at that key 
point in his life to strive for something else, something more to make 
his home State a better place. He recognized his considerable skills, 
talents, and knowledge and decided to use them to help families and 
businesses across our State succeed. That is a profound thing. In a 
world where there are far too many people who shun public life and 
public service for good reason, Alan stepped up to the plate when 
Delaware needed him most.
  Now, fortunately for all of us, Alan isn't going far. We will still 
get to see him in southern Delaware, where he will be working with 
SoDel Concepts in their successful restaurants. It is hopeful that he 
will get a chance to trade in his business suit for flip-flops and a 
beach chair from time to time. I just wanted to take this moment on the 
floor to thank Alan and to thank especially his wife Ellen and his 
wonderful sons, Andrew, Daniel, Jason, and Jess, for letting us have 
Alan in public service for so many years where he has made such a 
difference. It is my hope he will get to enjoy his family, his 
grandchildren, and the entire Delaware community, which is so grateful 
to Alan for his public service.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hoeven). The Senator from Utah.

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