[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9225]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING JACK HEALY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 13, 2017

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Jack 
Healy, former President and CEO of the Massachusetts Manufacturing 
Extension Partnership, who passed away in late April. The City of 
Worcester was shaped by its manufacturing heritage, and thanks to Jack, 
manufacturing remains a part of Worcester's future. I had the pleasure 
of working with Jack for many years and was proud to call him a partner 
in revitalizing our manufacturing base and creating good paying jobs 
across Massachusetts.
  In 1999, after a long and successful career at Presmet Corp., LEGO 
Systems, Squibb-Beech-Nut Inc. and the Wellesley Group, Jack founded 
MassMEP to help manufacturers adapt to the evolving economic climate. 
Under Jack's guidance, many in-state manufacturers successfully pivoted 
to advanced manufacturing and management practices that helped them not 
only survive, but also grow.
  Jack and MassMEP, through initiatives like the award-winning Mobile 
Outreach Skills Training (M.O.S.T.) Program, helped companies to 
compete with foreign advanced manufacturers by closing the skills gap, 
proving training and creating employment opportunities for people with 
little to no manufacturing experience. Thanks to the tireless work and 
dedication of Jack and the others at the Partnership, MassMEP has 
helped to create thousands of new jobs and has been recognized as a 
leader in manufacturing competitiveness. It's no wonder why Jack is 
known as the ``voice of manufacturing'' in Massachusetts.
  Beyond his work with MassMEP, the City of Worcester is indebted to 
Jack for the key role he played in the ``Manufacturing Our Future'' 
effort in Central Massachusetts. These annual summits fostered 
partnerships between industry, academia, and government that have 
significantly advanced local manufacturing competitiveness. Notably, 
this partnership is responsible for developing Worcester's Gateway 
Park, formerly an underused, 11-acre industrial area, into a beautiful 
bioengineering research complex that is attracting significant private 
investment and generating hundreds of new jobs.
  Jack had a razor sharp Irish wit matched with a New York City 
toughness that barely covered a heart of gold. His epic battles over 
federal funding for MassMEP are legendary, and showed what a tenacious 
and relentless advocate Jack was for the organization he led. He was 
among the most loyal and thoughtful business leaders I encountered, and 
he counseled and helped countless small manufacturers transition into 
the new reality of lean, precision manufacturing. He never lost sight 
of the worker on the shop floor who needed retraining and new job 
skills to survive and thrive in the age of automation.
  Jack was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and great 
grandfather. He will be dearly missed by his beloved wife of over 60 
years, Hilda, his children John, Robert, Mary, and Joseph, his son-in-
law Dr. Mark Watkins, his daughters-in-law Grace, Paula, and Amy, and 
all of his grandchildren and great grandchildren.
  Jack was an incredible partner in revitalizing the Massachusetts 
manufacturing base, and I'm proud to have called him a friend.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of Jack Healy.

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