A proclamation honoring David Stewart for his service to the City and County of Denver.
, you know, reassuring, talking it through. He called back in the morning. That commitment to safety goes above and beyond. A lot of times, I think the call of duty and we're sorry to see him retire and leave the city, but I'm sure that we are all much safer, safer with him being here and having his touch around , making sure that workplace safety is a high priority. Thank you, Councilwoman Gilmore. Councilman Clark? Yeah. I just wanted to also chime in and say thank you so much for your service, especially when it comes to our park ranger program. This is just an incredible asset to our city. These park rangers are out in our beloved parks and doing really hard work with people who get angry with them. And I have seen personally so many times them just be calm in the face of yelling people and really help make sure that all of our parks are safe and enjoyable for everyone. I can't imagine our city and our park system without this Ranger program. And so I just wanted to add my. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Clark. Councilman Lopez. I also wanted to just chime in on the thank you's and congratulations. Thank you for the hard work. I actually am very thrilled you are here in the council chambers celebrating and the proclamation. And not because I had a six pack at Barnum Park not too long ago. I was like, God, I swear to God, we drank that all medium and put it in. I'm just kidding. It's keeping you on your toes, man. No, I. It's. The Park Ranger program is so important in our city, and you all help keep the peace in our parks, help keep them pristine, but also help educate people on what the rules are and and what we can and can't do to our parks. And also because our parks are so historic. However old or however new they are, there are places for everybody and there are places for community gather and you all are the faces. And you all served this city with such with such dignity and with such hard work and honor. And I think it's it's fitting and congratulations and thank you so much for your service. Thank you, Councilman Lopez. Councilwoman Ortega. Mr. President, I'd like to have my name added. And I just wanted to say, do we have Happy Haines here in the audience? Happy served on this city council. And back then we used to have parks police. It was before we had Parks Rangers and, you know, a lot a lot changes in the city. But I think the fact that we do have park rangers is so important, especially, you know, not just in the city, but in our mountain parks as well. And not long ago, a number of us had an opportunity to go do a tour of our mountain parks. And the amount of land that we have in our mountain communities is pretty, pretty massive. And so to be able to cover all that ground and deal with some of the challenges and issues that come up, I think is is important. I know that involves a lot of interface with Jefferson County where most of that land is located. But I just wanted to say, David, thank you for your 19 plus years of service and really appreciate your dedication and commitment to the city and just wish you Godspeed in in your retirement. Thanks. Thank you. Councilmember Ortega. Any other comments on 688? CNN Madam Secretary, roll call. Gilmore I. Cashman I can each. Lopez I knew Ortega I. Susman, I black I. Brooks, Clark. I. Espinosa, I. New. Mr. President. I. Madam Secretary, please, first of all, to announce the results. 1212 8688 has been adopted, Councilwoman Gilmore. Don't suppose there's somebody you'd like to invite to the podium to receive the proclamation? Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to invite a Denver Parks and Rec leadership, along with Mr. David Stewart. So I just wanted to say a quick word. So, David. David has been huge for me. I mean, I've been in this job about four years, and I learned very quickly that when he's not the person you call, when something's going right, you call it when something is going wrong. And I'll tell you what. Not once did I ever call him, and he did not pick up his phone. He was always there for me, and he always gave me the sage advice. He kept he just kept things on the right track. And he made sure that I was doing making sure I was doing the things right and correctly, to make sure that we kept people out of trouble and we made sure that we were following protocol. As as Councilwoman Ortega mentioned, you know, we had an amazing mountain parks tour. And and on that great adventure, we had a little mishap on the way back to Denver on Sixth Avenue. And I'll tell you what, the first person I called was Dave Stewart. And I'll tell you what. Within 15 minutes, he was out there on Sixth Avenue helping us deal with that situation and taking care of business. So it is true. It is totally true. Dave created the park ranger program in 1999. He decided, we need a park ranger program. And it is true that when he started the program for at least the first month, he took his bike and he strapped it to the front of RTD bus and went around to Parks and and basically was our first park ranger. So I want our park rangers to stand up. I just want you to know, if it wasn't for Dave, we would not have a park ranger program. We probably have around 30 park rangers in the city of Denver right now. And to think that he was he did this and he envisioned this is pretty amazing. So I want to actually acknowledged Janet, his friend that's here. And thank you for coming. And all of our park staff has come to definitely recognize David because he's been a huge part of our department. So I do want Bob Tall to come up and say a few words. Good evening. I'm real proud to stand up here and to recognize Dave for his years of service. And I feel very honored to be part of the ceremony tonight to help congratulate him on all those years of service. A lot of things have been said already. They're all true, and I really appreciate all of council's support for the program and the kind words for Dave. They're well-deserved. Dave I don't know how to say it, but Dave exemplified and yes, he does answer his phone like Scott, no matter when you call. But Dave exemplified and promoted excellence in serving park visitors and protecting park resources and the finest park system in the nation. Denver His legacy of leadership and mentoring continues to inspire all of us and including myself and is very much appreciated. I feel fortunate to work the last three and a half plus years with Dave. So Dave, on behalf of the Denver Park Ranger program, congratulations on your retirement. And I'd like to present this little badge plaque for Dave. And let me just read it to you, maybe just a little bit of background. First, we always called Dave the godfather of the program because that's that's what he was. And so this badge plaque is presented to Dave Stewart, the godfather of Denver Rangers. Thanks for all the years of dedicated service. Denver Park Ranger Program 2015. Once again, I'm. Just window dressing. But I did say to what I said to Davis, Is it something that I said. Dave? Well, thank you. This is truly an honor. And I really appreciate. The. Opportunity to serve the citizens of Denver and Denver City Council. The mayor's office and. I have. Started out with the city attorney's office. For my first seven years and moved. To the finance office and then finished my last six years. With the Parks Recreation Department. So it's truly an honor and thank you very much. And good luck with the new appointment. All right. Thank you, Councilwoman Gilmore, for that. We are moving on to Proclamation 689. Councilman Cashman, would you please read Proclamation 689? Thank you, Mr. President. Let's see. Proclamation 689 celebrating October as spell binders aural stirrer storytelling month. Whereas in 1998, Spell Binders was founded in Denver, Colorado, bought by Jermain Deitch, who wanted to build intergenerational communities between children and older adults. And in 1997, Spell Binders became a Colorado nonprofit corporation with the goal of establishing storytelling chapters across the country. And. Whereas, Spell Binders oral storytellers have shared the art and joy of oral storytelling with 65,000 Colorado students each year. And. Whereas, Spell Binders is dedicated to restoring the art of oral storytelling to connect seniors to youth, weaving together the wisdom of diverse cultures throughout time and. Whereas, Spell Binders oral storytellers are volunteers who embrace the power of stories, keeping children spellbound with literature. Today there are 18 chapters in six states and in Canada. And. Whereas, Spell Binders oral storytellers are committed to enhancing literacy, encouraging character development, providing humor, building resources of wisdom, and sharing a love for the written word. And. Whereas, storytellers gathered at Denver Union Station on October 2nd, 2015 at 4:25 p.m. through October 3rd, 2015 at 5:25 p.m. to set the world record of 25 hours of storytelling. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the Council of the City and County of Denver, Section one, that the Denver City Council proclaims the month of October 2015 as