Melton Roe.

Festerson is absent.

Good one.

Harding.

Hug.

Mr.

President.

Here.

Please stand for the Pledge Allegiance and remain standing for opening remarks by Councilmember Don Rowe.

You may have please be seated.

Well, clearly, we're in the uh dog days of summer.

This last week has been a tough week to be in Nebraska.

But you know, I the ancient Greeks and the Romans, they they tried to look to the stars to figure out, you know, why did things happen?

And uh so there's a bright star called Sirius that is part of a constellation that looks like a howling dog.

And Sirius, from the first part of July until about the middle part of August, co-rises and kind of cosets with the sun.

So they believe that the heat generated in this time period was because of that star.

And uh I don't know if that's right or not.

Honestly, all I know is it's hot.

And uh I it really gives me a great appreciation for the men and women that are willing to work out in that heat every day.

You know, our our roads continue to need to be repaired.

Our parks need to be maintained.

You know, our police are out there patrolling the street, and firefighters are responding to emergencies, and we really do appreciate the work that they do.

I had a good friend Rich Pauls, who was a former city council member from District Five, who also served in the state legislature and was an administrator at Miller Public Schools.

And I quote, let's get to work.

If you would like your comments entered into the public record, you can email the City Clerk's office at Cityclerk at City of Omaha.org.

Council members receive these emails and read them.

I didn't need you to come on up.

Most of the comments are nice.

And whereas Deb's distinguished tenure brought focus and heart to telling Omaha's story while building and mentoring an award-winning team, demonstrating exceptional leadership, vision, and unwavering commitment to promoting the city as a premier destination for conventions, tourism, and special events, and whereas Deb developed and launched award-winning advertising and marketing campaigns for the Bob Curry Pedestrian Bridge and its beloved resident ambassador, Omar the Troll, as well as tourism campaigns targeting convention planners in nearby cities, which resulted in a 25% increase in the 2019 levels of visitation.

And whereas, under Deb's leadership, Visit Omaha secured millions of dollars in relief to Omaha hotels during the pandemic, a 10-year funding agreement between the city and Douglas County, multiple multi-year sporting event contracts, bringing in teams and visitors nationwide and numerous local partnerships to ensure the success of tourism throughout the city.

And whereas Deb passionately showcased the unique charm, hospitality, and world-class attractions Omaha has to offer, tirelessly advocating for the community with professionalism and enthusiasm to elevate Omaha's reputation and profile in surrounding metropolitan areas.

And whereas the impact of Deb's tenure with Visit Omaha will benefit the community for years to come.

And she will be profoundly missed by her colleagues, partners, and everyone who shared the pleasure of working alongside her.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the City of Omaha recognizes and celebrates the retirement of Deborah Ward as executive director of Visit Omaha and officially designate today Thursday designate Thursday, your last day of employment, uh July 31st, 2025 as Deb Ward Day in Omaha, Nebraska.

We should use that in a campaign.

Hold on, I'm not telling you.

Hey, hey, hey.

In witness whereof, we have set our hands and caused the official seal of the city of Omaha to be affixed on this 29th day of July 2025.

Deb, thank you very much and congratulations.

Thank you.

I'll let you have the uh the microphone for a little bit, but you won't be the last to get it.

He went over three minutes.

That thing went on forever.

Thank you.

We easily could have cut some of that out.

Yeah.

Jasmine probably wouldn't let you.

Um good job, Jazz.

Uh thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Um I'm not gonna say too many words because I'll start crying.

But um she knows it's true.

I I started thinking this morning that I have covered this chamber and all of you as a journalist or uh from my seat in as in city government as an employee for 44 years.

I'm older than the carpet, I think.

And I'm like, yeah, that's probably time to retire.

But thank you to my work family who's here, Jasmine and and Dean, and thank you to my real family who's here.

I'll introduce them, but I I introduce if you like Joe, he's my husband.

If you don't, if you don't like Joe, he's just a guy I cook for.

Uh my youngest daughter Addy, who's crying for me.

Um, my oldest daughter, Samantha, her husband Danny, and my favorite little boy in the whole wide world, Ryan.

Ryan, can you wave?