Portland, Ore. – The Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP) today named Peter Murray, VP Operations West at Welch Allyn, the 2014 winner of the Patrick R. Murphy Leadership Award. The award recognizes outstanding leadership among Oregon’s top manufacturing professionals, and is named for a former executive director of OMEP who passed away in 2011.
“Peter’s hard work and devotion to Welch Allyn has grown the company into one of the region’s premier manufacturers of medical diagnostic equipment,” said Chris Scherer, President of OMEP. “We are thrilled to present him with this award for his leadership and commitment to bettering Oregon’s manufacturing community. And we are honored to recognize our former OMEP leader Patrick R. Murphy with this ongoing award in his memory.”
Murray joined Welch Allyn in 1994 and became vice president of operations for the western United States in 2006. He also served as President of OMEP’s board of directors from 2008 to 2012 and as the board president of the Oregon Bioscience Association for two years, among other leadership roles. He is continually recognized for his work in the biomedical segment of Oregon’s manufacturing industry.
“Despite the recent announcement of layoffs at Welch Allyn’s Beaverton location, Peter has continued to invest in employee training and development and taken action to facilitate the smooth transition of his employees to other companies. It’s easy to be a decent leader when times are good, but truly great leaders are tested by their ability to endure and overcome hardships,” Scherer added.
Established in 2011, the OMEP award was named for Patrick R. Murphy following a career dedicated to driving Oregon’s manufacturing industry. During his 10 years as Executive Director of OMEP, he grew the organization to become Oregon’s leading advocate for small- and medium-sized manufacturers. The award also celebrates the continued partnerships Murphy formed on OMEP’s behalf with public and private organizations such as Business Oregon and the Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition.
About OMEP
OMEP is a not-for-profit team of business and manufacturing professionals – one of more than 60 Manufacturing Extension Partnership resource centers nationwide – that aims to make Oregon companies more competitive. OMEP provides Lean Enterprise training/implementation assistance and industry-driven best practices to a wide variety of industry sectors. A partner of choice for the economic development community, OMEP’s emphasis on strengthening and transforming companies creates a ripple effect of positive sustainable impact on the business, the workforce and the community. For more information about OMEP, please find us at omep.org.