[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 44 (Thursday, March 5, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E265-E266]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           DENNIS CULNAN, SR.

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. DONALD NORCROSS

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 5, 2020

  Mr. NORCROSS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and commend the 
Mount Laurel, New Jersey resident Dennis Culnan, Sr. for his 75th 
Birthday.
  On Saturday February 22, 2020, family and friends will gather to 
celebrate and honor Mr. Dennis Culnan, Sr. on his 75th Birthday. Mr. 
Dennis Culnan, Sr. was born on February 14, 1945 and grew up in 
Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  Throughout his childhood he often encountered challenging and adverse 
circumstances as his family struggled to make ends meet. However, life 
changed after he first saw the love of his life, Joan Plocharska. At 
the age of 14, Mr. Dennis Culnan, Sr. met Joan while attending Father 
Judge High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Joan, as Dennis 
describes, was sweet, shy and as delicate as a snowflake. Dennis and 
Joan dated on and off for several years and eventually married in 1966.
  Following his graduation in 1964 Mr. Dennis Culnan, Sr. honorably 
enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He quickly earned the rank 
of Lance corporal and proudly served his country before being medically 
discharged.
  Thereafter he returned home and established himself as an award-
winning investigative reporter, political writer and columnist for the 
Courier-Post of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where he worked for nearly 
four decades. Furthermore, with his extensive experience in public 
relations and governmental affairs consulting, in 1993, Dennis founded 
the public affairs firm Phoenix Strategies, specializing in government 
relations, communications, lobbying and grassroots education.
  During his time with the firm, Mr. Dennis Culnan, Sr. served in many 
capacities, including as the director of marketing and communications 
strategy for Siemen's Transportation while AMTRAK was introducing high-
speed rail from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Massachusetts. Recently he 
led New Jersey's consulting and marketing messaging for Spectra 
Energy's successful 1.2-billion-dollar energy

[[Page E266]]

infrastructure project and provided the marketing, media relations and 
communication needs for the South Jersey Port Corporation.
  Mr. Culnan's family are of the utmost importance to him. He is often 
known to refer to his wife Joan, his sister Tina and his mother 
Dorothy, as his ``Holy Trinity''. Although his beloved wife Joan, 
passed on in 2011, after 45 years of marriage her memory will always 
live on through their love and their family. Together, Dennis and Joan 
have two sons, Dennis Culnan, Jr. and Derek Culnan, two daughters-in-
law Silvia and Genevieve, and two grandchildren Dillon and Kaitlin.
  Madam Speaker, I ask you to join me in honoring the life and career 
of Mr. Dennis Culnan, Sr. of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, on his 75th 
Birthday.

                          ____________________