Speaker 2: And I certainly will proclamation 156 congratulating the Denver St Patrick's Day Parade Committee on the occasion of the 54th Annual Parade on March 12th, 2016. Whereas Denver has one of the largest cultural parades in the United States and the largest St Patrick's Day parade west of the Mississippi. And. WHEREAS, this year's theme, Irish Stampede, pays tribute to the great Western movement to Colorado and its Irish cultural heritage. And. WHEREAS, The Denver St Patrick's Day Parade exemplifies a peaceful celebration, along with a community of diverse citizens who gather together with a glance at the Celtic past and look to the future while enjoying Irish cultural fanfare , pipe and drum band, Irish step dancing and honoring all divisions of our military to the delight of over 300,000 spectators. And we're ask congratulations and thanks goes to all the volunteers of the Denver St Patrick's Day Parade Committee, including many who have passed on but are still remembered for this for their endless hours and never ending commitment , which makes this celebration possible. And. Whereas, we hope the Colorado Sun and the Mile High Air lifts the spirits of all who march or attend the 54th Annual Parade Saturday, March 12th, 2016. And we hope for a warm wind at our backs as we celebrate the Irish culture and the great state of Colorado. Now, therefore, being proclaimed by the city, by the Council of the City and County of Denver, Section one, that the Council hereby congratulate the Saint Denver Patrick's Day Parade Committee, a volunteer organization, and a well-organized, peaceful and spirited gathering at the 54th Annual Event, Section two that the Clerk of the city and county of Denver shall attest , and affixed the seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation and and a copy be transmitted to Denver Saint Patrick's Day committee president James at leisure. So I move that proclamation 156 be adopted it has been moved in second hand and any comments from members of council, I'm sure, Councilman Brooks, if he was here , he would say many thoughtful things. Councilman Flynn, you're up.
Speaker 3: I guess it falls to me then. Mr. President, I ought to be ashamed of myself for doing this, having stood over the grave of my great, great great grandfather, Flynn, in the Abbey Cemetery in Lac Ray in County Galway a few years ago. But I heard the Irish comedian Hal Roach once say that the and thank you for the bagpipes. But Hal Roach once told us that the Irish invented the bagpipes and gave them to the Scots as a joke and no one ever caught on. So they're still there, still apparently very, very, very much in favor. And and having said that, I remember being at an event and they were playing the bagpipes and they said that they would take requests. And one of the gentlemen went up and said could. You play far, far away. Thank you. But congratulations to the committee. And I just want to point out that if this is, in fact, the largest St Patrick's Day observation west of the Mississippi, that by extension on the globe, it would also be the largest one east of the River Liffey. Thank you.
Speaker 2: Councilman Flynn. Councilman, do.
Speaker 8: I. I just want to congratulate you on this day as well. Having Irish blood and I've got your pin on I'm already. So they congratulate you on the wonderful celebration for Saturday and and the opportunity to visit Ireland a couple of years ago. And what a beautiful country it is. I can see why you're proud of your heritage and and look forward to this celebration. Congratulations.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Councilman new councilwoman Ortega.
Speaker 9: Well, I can't say that I share that heritage, but I wish I were Irish. I just want to congratulate the committee who has put this on for 54 years. And thank you for sharing this with all the people in Denver who come down and get to enjoy such a great event. So look forward to the next 54 years. Thank you.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Councilwoman Ortega. Councilman Lopez.
Speaker 7: Thank you, Mr. President. I always look forward to this to this proclamation, this time of year, and to hearing the bagpipes and seeing the folks show up. And I you know, I want to invoke the name. I want to invoke the spirit of Uncle Walt, who is no longer with us and has since passed. But, you know, he was one of those folks who always showed up with his Ask Me shirt and they happened to be green. Right. So he showed up and he was very proud of it. And he made sure that all of us on council just celebrated and we're a yes vote for the proclamation. I don't know anybody that wasn't but that really understand they really understand the true meaning of the celebration of Saint Patrick's Day and what it means to the Irish people here in the United States and the descendants. I think it's I think it's really awesome. And it's exactly when when folks ask asked here was a Hispanic is a Latino. What is it? What do you call it? What is it? Right. And. You know, we always say we're Chicano or Mexicano, right? Especially those of us from from from this area. And it's. Reminds me of a friend who. Really put it this way. He says, You know, I won't call you Hispanic if you won't call me white. I said, Really? Explain that to me. And I say because my people are Irish. We have a very beautiful and strong culture. And although we understand this concept of a melting pot, we like to consider it more like a salad. We don't have to lose who we are and lose our heritage to become something entirely different. We just enjoy who we are and we truly accept who we are. Right. And accept our roots and respect each other's roots. And it was Cesar Chavez who said the celebration of one's own culture does not require the contempt or disrespect of another. And this is exactly I love being able to hear those bagpipes. I love being able to see the culture. I love hearing the dance. I love hearing the music. It is beautiful. And I'm glad to support this proclamation because that celebration of of who we really are and who you really are and how we we go back all those days and you could draw so many different roots. Some are probably not appropriate for this chamber is probably Americanos and Irish the kind of commonalities that we share and what we like to enjoy. But that's for another discussion. And after hours. But anyway, I am just so happy to always be a yes vote and to to welcome you in the chambers, but also to invoke the memory and the spirit of Uncle Walt for this. So thank you.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Councilman Lopez. Councilman Espinosa.
Speaker 4: I want to thank you, Paul, for saying that, because that's where I was going with this. This is a sort of weird time in America where we're sort of revisiting some some colorful past that may not be our better selves and your community face that sort of persecution discrimination historically in America. And I like to think that that doesn't happen anymore. And so I just want I'm glad for that. I love your culture as well for all the things that it brings, the food, you know. Haggis I could do without. McGuinness Definitely so, yeah. But actually so I just wanted to say hopefully that it's representative and symbolic of where we can where we can end up one day with everybody in this country. Thank you.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Councilman Espinosa. Councilman Lopez, you back up? Yeah.
Speaker 7: You know, I forgot to make this point. Now, just let it let it rest until next year. But it's so important. You know, the message I wanted to share, I think the first thing I wanted to say is, you know, we celebrate this culture not by going out and getting plastered. Right. That's not how you celebrate St Patrick's Day. There's so much there's so much beauty to the culture. There's so much beauty to the the traditions that it's not about going out and just wearing green and getting smashed out on the streets of Denver. Please don't do that. That's not how you celebrate and honor. The culture is the same, same reason we don't say do that for Cinco de Mayo. It's such a revolutionary holiday. This is a revolutionary holiday. If you truly understood the history of the people and what the struggles are, you would not honor that well. So, you know, in that spirit, this. Thank you. I wanted to make that point, Mr. President.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Councilman Lopez, you have comments? 156. I will just simply congratulate. Oh, Councilman Espinosa, back up here.
Speaker 4: I thought about it after I said it, because I remember Haggis was at the Highlander Games, and that's not right.
Speaker 0: So let's stick to Guinness.
Speaker 2: And will be.
Speaker 1: All up. Thanks.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Councilman Espinosa.
Speaker 2: And I will just simply add, you know, thank you for your your work as a committee, put together this remarkable parade each and every year. And I encourage everyone to come out and celebrate, because even though you may share or not share the heritage, you will soon realize we have much more in common than we have and different. So I think that's an important thing to realize. SENOR The comments, Madam Secretary. Raquel.
Speaker 6: Flynn. I Gilmore. Cashman. Hi, Kennedy. Lopez. All right. New Ortega. Sussman. Black eye. Clark. Espinosa.
Speaker 4: Hi.
Speaker 6: Mr. President.
Speaker 3: Hi.
Speaker 2: Madam Secretary, please close the vote to announce the results.
Speaker 6: 12 eyes.
Speaker 2: 12 eyes. 156 has been adopted. And yes. Is there something I'd like to invite the podium. I see our our committee president right there or anyone else wants to come on up to the podium. Looks, accept the proclamation.
Speaker 9: Yes. Thank you. President Herndon. My name is Theresa miller Ragnow, with an Irish heritage of Dougherty. And we would like to, first of all, thank you for your comments that moved us. Thank you for that. We appreciate that. I would like to introduce to you some people who work tirelessly to lead a group of 250 people, and that is our board of directors. Could we have our board of directors please stand? You know, I'd like to introduce to you our queen Colleen. Her name's Kate Kelly, and she earned her degree in international business and marketing from Denver University. She studied abroad in Dublin, Ireland, which solidified her lifelong interest in Irish culture. Born and raised in Denver, Kate has always known of her ancestral Irish roots through her parents, Maureen and George Kelly, whose lineages both originate in Ireland. Kate is an international account specialist in the nutrition division for LA Prima Foods. Queen Coleen.
Speaker 5: I would just like to thank the entire City Council for granting us this proclamation.
Speaker 9: I would like to introduce the president of the Denver St Patrick's Day parade. He served in the Army National Guard for 38 years. He was a test pilot, and he finished his career as Colorado's aviation technical inspector and safety officer. He served the Irish community for over 36 years. He's played bagpipes since he was a little boy. And his first bagpipes did come from Scotland. Jay.
Speaker 3: Thank you. Council president in council for granting us this proclamation. It means a lot to us. Thank you.
Speaker 2: Here are moving on to our next proclamation, proclamation 157, sponsored again by Councilman Brooke. So I will be reading that one celebrating the 50th anniversary of Denver Health, Brennan Gibson, Eastside Family Health Center and Denver Community Health Services.
A proclamation congratulating the Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee on the occasion of the 54th Annual Parade on March 12, 2016.