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A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
21-195
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
May 3, 2016
To recognize and honor Mr. Martin G. Murray for his educational and civic contributions
to the District of Columbia.
WHEREAS, Martin Murray was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 13, 1956, the son of James Murray, a MTA bus driver who as a young man had immigrated to America from Ireland, and Margaret McGowan Murray, herself the daughter of 2 Irish immigrants;
WHEREAS, Martin Murray graduated from New York City’s Our Lady of Mt. Carmel – St. Benedicta Elementary School and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Rutgers University;
WHEREAS, Martin Murray began 34 years of service to the public as a federal employee at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and his work for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission brought him to Washington, D.C.;
WHEREAS, Martin Murray is a recognized volunteer instructor of English as a second language at Sacred Heart Adult Education Center;
WHEREAS, Martin Murray served with distinction as the President of the Woodley Park Community Association;
WHEREAS, Martin Murray remains a long-standing and active member of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the District’s largest political LGBTQ civil rights organization;
WHEREAS, Martin Murray served as President of the Shoreham North Condominium Association;
WHEREAS, Martin Murray is the founder and President of the ‘Washington Friends of Walt Whitman’, an organization that has performed an exemplary job of educating and enlightening the public about the great American poet Walt Whitman and his association with our nation’s capital;
WHEREAS, Martin Murray is the author of numerous books and articles on Walt Whitman and Washington, D.C., has lectured on this topic both at home and abroad at the invitation of foreign governments, and has led fascinating and insightful walking tours through our great city of Washington, D.C. to sites associated with Walt Whitman;
WHEREAS, through Martin Murray’s advocacy, in 2005, the Council of the District of Columbia symbolically designated F Street, N.W., between 7th and 8th Streets, N.W., as “Walt Whitman Way”; and
WHEREAS, on April 15th, 2016, friends and family of Martin Murray will gather to celebrate his 60th birthday at the Arts Club of Washington, in the historic former residence of President James Monroe, and the Council of the District of Columbia joins Martin’s family and friends to express wishes for a very happy 60th birthday.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Martin Murray Recognition Resolution of 2016”.
Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes Mr. Martin Murray and his contributions to the District as a community leader.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first day of publication in the District of Columbia Register.
