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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Martin "Marty" Matthews | ||||||
| 4 | on his retirement from full-time employment as Director of | ||||||
| 5 | Government Affairs with Merck & Company, Inc. and to commend | ||||||
| 6 | him for his unwavering commitment to improving the health of | ||||||
| 7 | residents of Illinois; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Martin Matthews is a native of Pittsburg, | ||||||
| 9 | Pennsylvania, where he attended Schenley High School; he | ||||||
| 10 | earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology, Chemistry, and | ||||||
| 11 | Psychology from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where | ||||||
| 12 | he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, In 1989, Martin Matthews commenced his | ||||||
| 14 | professional career with Merck & Company, Inc. as a | ||||||
| 15 | professional sales representative, focusing on cardiovascular, | ||||||
| 16 | osteoarthritis, Parkinson's, and ophthalmic diseases and | ||||||
| 17 | pharmaceuticals to treat and manage the health of the | ||||||
| 18 | afflicted; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, Martin Matthews was subsequently promoted to | ||||||
| 20 | serve as Merck & Company's national coordinator for health | ||||||
| 21 | education from 1991 to 1992, where he managed a $23 million | ||||||
| 22 | dollar health education budget for cardiovascular marketing | ||||||
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| 1 | teams; and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Martin Matthews then transitioned to a new role | ||||||
| 3 | in 1992 as sales training manager for new representatives in | ||||||
| 4 | the Ohio and Seattle regions, serving an even greater | ||||||
| 5 | responsibility within Merck & Company; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Martin Matthews assumed the key position of | ||||||
| 7 | Director of Government Affairs for Merck & Company in 1993, | ||||||
| 8 | becoming responsible for all legislative and regulatory issues | ||||||
| 9 | affecting the company in the states of Illinois, Indiana, | ||||||
| 10 | Iowa, and South Dakota; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, From 1993 to 2023, Martin Matthews was a member | ||||||
| 12 | of the Illinois PhRMA Task Force, sharing his insights with | ||||||
| 13 | association members and leadership on Medicaid, Medicare, and | ||||||
| 14 | health care reform legislation being considered for enactment | ||||||
| 15 | by the Illinois General Assembly; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Martin Matthews also served on several | ||||||
| 17 | professional bodies, including the Illinois Chamber Health | ||||||
| 18 | Care Council, the Illinois Hepatitis C Task Force, the | ||||||
| 19 | Illinois Diabetes Policy Coalition as legislative chairman, | ||||||
| 20 | and the Illinois Diabetes Caucus Foundation Board; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, Martin Matthews developed an expertise on a | ||||||
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| 1 | multitude of key Merck & Company policy issues, from varicella | ||||||
| 2 | and human papillomavirus (HPV)
vaccines to diabetes drug | ||||||
| 3 | access; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, During his service as Director of Government | ||||||
| 5 | Affairs for Merck & Company, Martin Matthews has received | ||||||
| 6 | numerous professional corporate recognitions, including the | ||||||
| 7 | Masters Club Distinguished Service Award in 1998, the Vice | ||||||
| 8 | President's Distinguished Service Award in 2002, the Merck | ||||||
| 9 | Special Achievement Award in both 2001 and 2002, the Merck | ||||||
| 10 | Masters Club Award in 2008, 2011, and 2013, and installation | ||||||
| 11 | in the Hall of Fame, as well as numerous Awards of Excellence | ||||||
| 12 | from Merck Sales, the Vaccine Division, and the Merck Schering | ||||||
| 13 | Plough Joint Venture; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Throughout his tenure, Martin Matthews has worked | ||||||
| 15 | in a bipartisan manner to advocate for the passage of over 200 | ||||||
| 16 | pieces of legislation designed to improve healthcare and | ||||||
| 17 | access to affordable drugs and vaccines for Illinoisans; his | ||||||
| 18 | greatest legislative accomplishment occurred in 2002, when he | ||||||
| 19 | provided testimony and guidance to Illinois lawmakers and the | ||||||
| 20 | State Board of Public Health on treatment options for the | ||||||
| 21 | eradication of chicken pox, also known as the varicella-zoster | ||||||
| 22 | virus, among Illinois school children, leading to the | ||||||
| 23 | implementation of a groundbreaking law; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Martin Matthews is the longest tenured Director | ||||||
| 2 | of Government Affairs for Merck & Company in Illinois history, | ||||||
| 3 | with a career spanning 30-plus years of service; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Martin Matthews is the husband of Timoli, the son | ||||||
| 5 | of Lela Matthews, and the father of Aja, Lela, and Mariah; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, In retirement, Martin Matthews looks forward to | ||||||
| 7 | spending more time with his family and to perfecting his golf | ||||||
| 8 | game and grilling skills with friends and colleagues; | ||||||
| 9 | therefore, be it
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| 10 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 11 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 12 | we congratulate Martin "Marty" Matthews on his retirement from | ||||||
| 13 | full-time employment as Director of Government Relations at | ||||||
| 14 | Merck & Company, and we commend him on his many years of | ||||||
| 15 | service on behalf of patients in the State of Illinois and | ||||||
| 16 | beyond; and be it further
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| 17 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 18 | presented Martin Matthews as a symbol of our esteem and | ||||||
| 19 | respect.
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