Muskie Award Honors Regional Leader for Public Service
June 11, 2009
Portland, ME—Charles Tretter, Executive Director of the New England Governors' Conference (NEGC), has received the Edmund S. Muskie Award for Distinguished Public Service from the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine for his many contributions to regional policy development.
The Muskie Award is awarded to individuals who demonstrate the leadership and dedication to public service epitomized by Edmund S. Muskie and his long, distinguished career as Maine governor, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of State.
Retiring after nearly 50 years of public service, Tretter is being honored for his leadership at the NEGC, which has become a national model for innovative policy development in the fields of energy, environment, economic development, and health care, among others. Tretter was also instrumental in creating the relationship between the New England governors and the five Eastern Canadian premiers, formalized in 1972 by the creation of the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG/ECP).
In presenting the award on June 11 in Boston, Bill Foster, dean of the Muskie School, said: "Senator Muskie, author of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, would be particularly proud of Mr. Tretter's leadership in the drafting of historic accords on acid rain, mercury and greenhouse gas emissions." The accords are seen as models of regional environmental cooperation and the basis for continental and international initiatives.
Tretter began his career as an aide to Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. He then worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Cambridge, MA and joined the New England Regional Commission in 1967. When the Commission merged with the NEGC in 1981, Tretter became general counsel. He has served at the NEGC for nearly 30 years, and was named executive director by the region's governors in 2003.
The Muskie School is Maine's distinguished comprehensive school of public policy and management, serving New England and the nation. It is nationally recognized for applying innovative knowledge to critical issues in the fields of sustainable communities, health policy and child and family services. In all of its activities, the School carries on the values and ideas of Senator Muskie.
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