Good evening and welcome to the Hampton City Council Legislative Session.

Madam Clerk, will you call the roll, please?

Councilman Bowman.

Present.

Vice Mayor Brown.

Here.

Councilwoman Campbell.

Present.

Councilwoman Theraby.

Present.

Councilwoman Harper, present.

Councilwoman Mudler.

President.

And Mayor Greg.

President.

The invitation this evening will be led by Councilmember Hope Harper, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

So would you join, Stan, and please join us for the prayer and indication.

Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you as acknowledgement of your power.

Thank you for this day of which we have never seen.

We appreciate our great city and the opportunity to serve and that we represent you and represent the city with honor and integrity.

We pray for every citizen and every community within our city.

Please bless those who are on furlough right now and affected by the government shutdown.

Let them lack for nothing.

Continue to give us grace to face unique challenges and keep our first responders and public safety in your care.

All these things we ask in your name.

Amen.

So any Hampton University Pirates out there, raise their hand.

All right.

Okay.

So this weekend we celebrate Hampton University's homecoming.

It is a cherished tradition that brings alumni from across the country back to our home by the sea.

Hampton University stands as a pillar of excellence, shaping leaders and advancing opportunities for generations.

Homecoming is more than just a reunion, it's a reaffirmation of pride, purpose, and partnership between the university and the city of Hampton.

And so we honor Hampton University's enduring legacy and the vital role that it continues to play in the life of our community.

Today we join communities across the nation in celebrating Medical Assistance Recognition Day.

And I want to take just a moment to thank all of those dedicated medical assistants that uh help in our community who work tirelessly to keep our health care system running smoothly.

You are often the first face that patients see and the steady hand that support our physicians, nurses, and health care teams.

And your compassion, professionalism, and attention to detail make a real difference in the lives of countless individuals every day.

So on behalf of our city, I extend a heartfelt appreciation to you for your service, your skill, and your unwavering commitment to patient care.

And thank you for all that you do in helping us uh keep our community safe and strong.

And over the last uh several months, um, I've had the occasion of being in the meeting many of the health care assistants or the medical assistants in our community, both at uh the hospitals, the doctor's offices, the cancer treatment facilities, and they you know really make a huge difference in helping you, you know, navigate the system and really bring some level of comfort to whatever medical issues that we're all dealing with.

So uh, on behalf of myself and my family, I want to thank all the medical assistants in our community for the work that they do.

And then lastly, uh last night I held uh our final your say with Mayor Gray listening session, uh, focusing on our seven strategic priorities, and that one was at Mary Jackson Community Center, and these sessions have really provided some valuable opportunities to hear directly from our residents about their experiences, ideas, and priorities for our city.

And many people share that they aren't always aware of the great events, uh the facilities and amenities right here in Hampton, but it's a report and reminder of why we need to keep our community connected and informed.

And so with this final round of listening sessions where we've gathered input to help shape our strategic priorities in the future beginning uh next year.

Uh you'll say with Mayor Gray will uh really kind of re-uh will we'll focus more on a transition to a quarterly uh format held across the city so that we'll just continue to bring the people uh bring together people in our community to talk about their concerns, uh challenges and uh ideas that they have to keep our community great.

So thanks for all who participated at uh Mary Jackson last night.

We had uh a packed house and uh some really good discussion, so we appreciate all of them.

So uh with that, uh excuse me, Mayor.

I know Vice Mayor Brown.

This is totally totally out of protocol.

We normally don't do this uh until the end of our session.

But there's someone here very special tonight that I think the citizens will want to hear, uh, particularly as it relates to you.

So I'm gonna have Steve Cook, the chief innovation officer for the uh workforce to come up tonight and say some few words to you.

Uh in a short video.

Thank you.

We're gonna do the video first.

Uh yes, let's roll that.

I'm sorry, let's roll it.

Thank you.