Good evening, everyone, and welcome to uh Hampton City Council uh ceremonial session with the uh spotlight.

Uh tonight our focus is on uh economic growth, and uh before we get started, I'm gonna ask the clerk to call the roll, please.

Councilman Bowman.

President Vice Mayor Brown.

Here.

Councilwoman Campbell, present, Councilwoman Faraby.

President, Councilwoman Harper, President, Councilwoman Muggler, President, Mayor Gray.

President.

And so I am going to turn the program over to uh uh marketing outreach coordinator Brian Marcese.

Brian, uh good after good evening.

Good evening.

Thank you, Mayor Gray, Vice Mayor Brown, members of council, City Manager Bunting, and City Attorney Sidner.

Um starting this month, our spotlight series will focus on people and organizations in the community that are helping to make Hampton progress with our community strict uh strategic priorities.

Local government cannot and should never try to be the sole solution provider for making our community an even better place to live, work, play, learn, and invest.

The cities that are most successful enhance their communities underhance uh themselves with an understanding that's fundamental.

Progress happens through partnership.

It happens when residents step up, when businesses invest back into their neighborhoods, when the faith community, nonprofits, civic groups, and local leaders work together towards shared goals.

So each month we want to shine the light on those who are going the extra mile, not because they have to, but because they care.

Tonight we begin with economic growth priority, the economic growth priority strategic priority.

Partnerships can happen in many ways, both big and small.

And tonight we highlight two special partners, one individual and one larger entity who demonstrate that anyone can make a meaningful difference in our community.

Our first honoree uh is Don Holliman.

Don has been a fixture on the Peninsula Automotive Community for decades.

Some of you may remember riding down Mercury Boulevard and seeing the big uh Holloman Pontiac sign, but where truly sets him apart is not just his business involvement, it's a sustained commitment to giving back.

For nearly 50 years, Don organized the Peninsula Automotive Dealers Association to provide a community toy drive for our youth.

Nearly half a century.

Think about that what that means.

It means that children who received toys in the early years of that effort are now parents, perhaps even grandparents in our community today.

Year after year, through economic highs and lows, through industry changes, through busy retail seasons and shifting times, that toy drive has continued.

And that consistency is leadership.

Don didn't just support the effort once, he built it into a tradition.

He brought dealerships together, he mobilized businesses, he created a collective effort that magnified impact far beyond what any one organization could have done alone.

He made it special.

Santa doesn't just show up, but he arrives by helicopter.

For a child, this moment is unforgettable.

It turns a charitable effort into an experience.

It creates joy, it creates a memory, it creates magic.

But beyond but behind the helicopter landing is planning, coordination, commitment year after year.

That is what partnership looks like.

It is business leaders recognizing that economic growth and community well-being go hand in hand.

Strong communities create strong markets, and strong markets create opportunities for everyone.

Don Holliman exemplifies that philosophy.

His legacy will not just be measured in his business success, but in the smiles he delivered, the families he supported, and the tradition of generosity that has endured for nearly 50 years.

Don, on behalf of the city of Hampton, thank you so much for your leadership, your perseverance, and your heart for this community.

Please join me in recognizing Don Holliman.

And with him tonight is his lovely wife Terry.

I said, and with you with you tonight is your lovely wife Terry Holliman.

And Mr.

Holliman, if you and your wife Terry would come down front and uh we want to uh do a presentation and uh take a couple of photos.

And uh we have with us this evening former Mayor Donnie Tuck, and I know Donnie had a close relationship with Mr.

Holliman and participated in his uh annual uh tour drive.

So I'd like to ask Mayor Tuck to come on and join us for the presentation.

Councilmember, actually.

Let's go this way, actually.

Thank you.

I just want to add and and thank you for recognizing my husband for all the work he's put into this.

But I want to add that we have over 200 volunteers, including the helicopter pilot.

No money goes to anybody.

All the money that we collect goes directly to the toys that we provide to the to the um children.

So if it wasn't for those volunteers, we wouldn't be able to do this.

Let me add something to that.

Uh the volunteers are very important.

And without the volunteers, we couldn't do it.

Everybody is a volunteer that comes to set up every all the people involved are volunteers.

We we don't have a payroll.

So the the thing everybody keeps missing, I think is the cooperation of let's say the cities.

Now the cities are part of what we do.

They're they are there.

I mean uh one of my favorite things is a picture of Mayor former Mayor Dinny Tuck sitting on the floor playing with some kids at the Christmas party.

And uh it uh you know it is folks it it's a uh city council, the city people, knee for news, fire the firemen, uh police.

They all volunteer to come in.

We have uh they human services come in and this is a Sunday afternoon, and Sunday afternoon before Christmas, and human services uh really provide us with the uh the names and good and uh a lot of things, and you don't realize how far out it extends in the city.

This this party with all the people that operate in and around it is is really a combination of everything you can think of.

It just uh just it rolls out and rolls out and rolls out, and I'd like to thank everybody, particularly the ones here tonight and the ones of uh human services.

I don't know what we do without you.

So uh thank you, thank you for uh inviting me down here, thank you for my life.

Uh we hope it just keeps on going.

So we'll say it.

This is the 50th party coming up this year, 2026.

Yes.

So everybody's welcome.

We'll get the word out.

Hope you're able to be there.

All right.

Thank you, Mr.

Holland.

Our second honoree um receptor represents a partnership on a broader structural scale.

For 30 years, the Colceum Central Business District has been a powerful driver of economic vitality, making an indelible impact on Hampton and our tax base as one of our uh most important commercial corridors.

Established in 1996, the bid was built on the simple but powerful idea.

When businesses invest collectively in their own district, the entire city benefits.

The Coliseum Central Area is more than just a shopping corridor.

It's the entry point for visitors attending events at the Hampton Coliseum.

It's home to major retail, hospitality, and commercial activity, and it supports jobs and guarant and generates tax revenue and shapes first impressions of Hampton for residents and visitors alike.

After all, it is the center of it all.

But commercial districts do not thrive on autopilot.

They require vision, they require coordination, and they require sustained investment.

Through a beautification initiatives, marketing efforts, infrastructure collaboration, business retention support, and long-term rep redevelopment strategy.

The Coliseum Central Bid has helped ensure that this corridor remains competitive and forward-looking.

For three decades, property owners have volunteer voluntarily invested their shared future, recognizing that collaboration strengthens everyone's success.

That is partnership at scale.

Tonight we are especially pleased to have members of the bid board with us tonight.

Um and these individuals volunteer their time and expertise to guide the district's direction and ensure its continued vitality.

Um we have Raymond Tripp, who's the executive director, Ebony Counsel, who's the deputy executive director, um Drina Love, um with the Cal CF Central board is here, Randy Bryant, Sonia Daniels, Brian DeProfio, you may know.

Um Mary Harper, uh Dr.

Alan Jones, and Jerry Kellum.

Um there's uh many more on the board as well.

Michael Edmonds, Donna Frazier, Eric Carl, uh Peyton Milner Milner, um, Karen Ory, uh, Pam Parish, Andy Ruckman, and Corbin Van Ripper, uh, who are unable to make it this evening.

Um as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Coliseum Central Business Improvement District.

We recognize that it's not just an organization, but three decade decades of collective investment in Hampton's prosperity.

There are many other business sector partners that we could highlight as contributors to economic growth.

But we hope the two that we have recognized tonight uh give you a glimpse into the powerful impact of partnership.

And um with that, I'd like to invite uh Raymond Tripp, the executive director, to come up uh really quickly.

And Mayor Tuck, I mean Mayor uh Gray.

And one last thing I'd like to say as they come down is um I'd like to uh acknowledge an important uh transition with the Coliseum Central and Business Improvement District.

This year marks the planned retirement of the bid's president Raymond Tripp.

Uh serving in that role requires steady leader leadership, collaboration among a diverse stakeholders, and a long-term commitment to the district's vitality.

Raymond has helped guide the bid during an important chapter, strengthening partnerships and keeping the focus on sustainable growth.

Rest of the board.

I'm not going to tell my age, but 18, and I'm the manager of the music land.

This guy right here would run into the Coliseum office.

That's right.

These are people that make it happen.

I'm excited for her because she knows this business better than anybody.

And there's 17 years.

Everybody scoot in for a picture.

And if some all people want to stand behind, that would be great.

You might want to get over here.

Yeah, I might have to go back to work now.

Yeah, we can do this.

Right here.

Good evening, good evening, everyone, good evening, council, honorable mayor.

As vice.

As Vice as Vice Chair of this wonderful organization, I just want to say thank you.

A lot of time and effort goes into doing what we do in the collaboration with the city is nothing but excellent.

And we thank you for recognizing us.

Thank you so much.

We couldn't do it without you.

Great practice.

So that's how we strengthen our economy in our city.

Um to uh an organization and and uh individual that are helping to um push forward our uh economic vitality and um and meet those stri strategic priorities.

It's also how we build resilience resilience, and this is how we continue to make Hampton a place where people want to live, work, and play.

And with that, Mayor, I'll turn it to you.

Okay, thank you, Brian.

And again, uh thank you to uh Mr.

Holliman uh as well as uh Mr.

Raymond Tripp and all of the uh members of the uh Coliseum uh Central Business District.

I mean, we work together to uh you know create the strength of and a strong economy and support local businesses in our community, and uh your organization is made up of many of those businesses that are located here in the city.

We are extremely grateful for all the work you do every day to uh you know attract new business and uh you know uh address security and marketing and physical improvements.

I got all three of them uh that you uh focused on last night, and so again, you do a great job, and thank you so much.

So all right, with that we uh adjourned and our next business meeting begins at six thirty.