By Terry Murry on Friday, December 9th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
Murdock plans a busy retirement
PENDLETON โ Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock retires at the end of this month. What retirement will look like stretches his imagination.
โI have never been retired,โ he said. โIโve had a job every day since 1964, and so I really donโt know what Iโm going to do. Iโm sure Iโm not going to be just going around in my bathrobe and slippers on the front porch. There will be more.โ
During his time on the board of commissioners, Murdock was assigned oversight to the Umatilla County Public Health Department. He calls the pandemic the toughest thing heโs faced in his professional career. He also instituted beginning work in the fall for the budget for the next fiscal year, which starts on July 1 instead of waiting until the last minute.
He is also quick to point out that it took the hard work of three commissioners, not one, to accomplish anything. He also said that the credit for those accomplishments belongs not just to the commissioners, but to every single county employee.
Retirement will see him working as president of the board of directors for CAPECO on a project that he learned about on a visit to the Deep South.
โEight years ago I visited New Orleans and saw something called a food hub, to make sure that children and families had access to fruits and vegetables and learned how to cook them,โ he said. โIโm going to stay on at CAPECO in the hope that we can launch that project. Iโm on the board of directors of the Red Angus Association of America. Iโm still going to go to Rotary, and Iโm a trustee at my church.โ
Editorโs note: George Murdock was a guest on Thursdayโs KUMA Coffee Hour. He reflects on the past and looks to the future in a podcast that can be heard at https://omny.fm/shows/coffee-hour-podcast/december-8-umatilla-county-board-of-commissioners.