Murdock plans an active retirement

Murdock plans a busy retirement

PENDLETON – Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock retires at the end of this month. What retirement will look like stretches his imagination.

“I have never been retired,” he said. “I’ve had a job every day since 1964, and so I really don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m sure I’m not going to be just going around in my bathrobe and slippers on the front porch. There will be more.”

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 he’s 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.

“Eight 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,” he said. “I’m going to stay on at CAPECO in the hope that we can launch that project. I’m on the board of directors of the Red Angus Association of America. I’m still going to go to Rotary, and I’m a trustee at my church.”

Editor’s note: George Murdock was a guest on Thursday’s 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.

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