Middlesex County Chamber Breakfast Features US Senator, Middletown Judge

From the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce:

MIDDLETOWN, CT - Chairman Gregory Shook of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce announced that Senator Chris Murphy will be guest speaker at the Middlesex Chamber’s Member Breakfast on November 21. During the breakfast, Judge Joseph D. Marino of Middletown will be presented the chamber’s 2016 Governor William A. O’Neill Public Service Award.

The Governor William A. O’Neill Public Service Award, presented since 2002, is awarded to an individual who has performed outstanding public service for Middlesex County and the State of Connecticut. The award is named after Governor O’Neill because he dedicated himself to public service during his tenure as a state legislator, Lieutenant Governor and Governor.

Chamber President Larry McHugh noted, “We are looking forward to hearing from Senator Chris Murphy at this Member Breakfast, his third appearance in front our chamber. We are happy to name Judge Marino as the recipient of the Governor William A. O’Neill Public Service Award, throughout his outstanding career in public service he has demonstrated his commitment to the community on the bench and outside of the bench. He has made our region much better for all our citizens. We look forward to presenting him with the award.”

“We are proud to honor Judge Joseph D. Marino with the prestigious Governor William A. O’Neill Public Service Award. Judge Marino has served as Judge of Probate in the District of Middletown since January 1987, an important jurisdiction for mental health cases and family cases in the state. We congratulate his career in public service long and distinguished career and we certainly look forward to honoring him on November 21,” said Mary Ellen Klinck, chair of the nominating committee for the award and past chamber chairwoman.

The Member Breakfast Meeting, sponsored by The Mohegan Tribe, will be held at the Radisson Hotel Cromwell, 100 Berlin Road, Cromwell, with networking beginning at 7:00 A.M., breakfast buffet opens at 7:30 A.M., and the meeting program, 8:00 to 9:00 A.M. Advance registration required, please register on line: www.middlesexchamber.com. For more information, please visit www.middlesexchamber.com.

About: Senator Chris Murphy:

Senator Christopher S. Murphy is the junior United States Senator for Connecticut. Elected in 2012, Murphy serves on the Appropriations Committee, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, and the Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee.

Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Murphy served Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District for three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Fifth District includes the towns of Danbury, Meriden, New Britain, Torrington, and Waterbury. During his three terms, Murphy served on the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Energy and Commerce Committee, and the Committee on Financial Services.

Before his service in the U.S. Congress, Murphy served for eight years in the Connecticut General Assembly. He spent four years representing Southington and the 81st district in the House, and then spent four years representing the 16th Senatorial District, which includes the towns of Waterbury, Wolcott, Cheshire and Southington. While in the Senate, he served as the Chairman of the Public Health Committee.

Senator Murphy grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut, and attended Williams College in Massachusetts. In 2002, he graduated from UConn Law School in Hartford, Connecticut. He practiced real estate and banking law from 2002-2006 with the firm of Ruben, Johnson & Morgan in Hartford.

On August 18, 2007, Murphy married Cathy Holahan, an attorney. They have two sons named Owen and Rider.

About Judge D. Marino:

Judge Joseph D. Marino has served as Judge of Probate for the District of Middletown since January 1987. He presides over one of the largest and busiest Courts in the state serving the residents of Cromwell, Durham, Middlefield and Middletown. With a population of over 74,000 people, the Middletown District handles thousands of matters per year. The court is unique for its volume of mental health cases due to the presence of Connecticut Valley Hospital, Middlesex Hospital, and Solnit Children's Center. The Middletown Court is also a part of the Central Connecticut Regional Children's Court in Meriden where Judge Marino presides over cases involving Custody, Guardianships, and Termination of Parental Rights. He is a graduate of Xavier High School and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio and his Law Degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. He is a past president of the Connecticut Probate Assembly and has been a member of numerous committees within the probate system and is currently serving on the Budget Committee which sets the staffing level, employee compensation and budgets for all the courts in the State, and on the Executive Committee and is the Chair of the Nominating Committee. Judge Marino maintains a law practice in Portland where he is legal counsel for Xavier High School and The East Hampton Housing Authority. He is the founder of a holiday gift drive for residents of local skilled nursing facilities and has coached youth soccer, basketball, and softball. He is a member, and current President, of the Middletown Rotary Club, the Middlesex County NAACP, the Italian Society of Middletown, and is President-Elect of the Middlesex County Bar Association. He is the recipient of the Community Service Award from the NAACP and the Paul Harris Community Service Fellowship Award from the Middletown Rotary Club.

Judge Marino and his wife, Donna, the Partnership Coordinator for Middletown Public Schools, have been married for 37 years and have three children.

Images via the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce.