SaLUTES to 300 – Part 2

Balloons and streamers accentuate the festive atmosphere as friends, colleagues, and community members gather to bid farewell to a Downtown Tucson icon, David Slutes. The room buzzes with laughter and heartfelt conversations, while a slideshow of memories plays in the background, capturing David’s 27-year journey at Hotel Congress. It’s an emotional night filled with gratitude and celebration, a fitting tribute to a man who has left an indelible mark on the Tucson community.

In this special 300th episode of Life Along The Streetcar, we dive into the second part of our interview with David Slutes, highlighting his profound impact on Downtown Tucson. Join us as we explore his legacy, his visionary projects, and his exciting future plans.

The Legacy of David Slutes

Founding Second Saturdays: A Monthly Celebration

David Slutes was a founding board member of Second Saturdays, a vibrant monthly event that brought life and energy to downtown Tucson. Launched with the support of key figures like Fletcher McCusker, Brandi Fenton, and Don Martin, Second Saturdays quickly became a staple of the community. The event featured live music, local vendors, and a festive atmosphere that drew residents and visitors alike.

The idea behind Second Saturdays was simple yet powerful: create a reason for people to come downtown. At a time when downtown Tucson was struggling to attract foot traffic, David and his team saw the potential for a regular event that would showcase the area’s cultural richness and foster a sense of community. Over the years, Second Saturdays grew into a beloved tradition, providing a platform for local artists and businesses to thrive.

Even as Second Saturdays undergoes transitions, its impact remains undeniable. David’s vision and dedication helped to establish a lasting legacy that continues to bring joy and excitement to downtown Tucson every month.

HoCo Fest: Turning Labor Day into a Celebration

HoCo Fest, another brainchild of David Slutes, transformed Labor Day weekend from a slow, uneventful period into one of the most anticipated times of the year. Conceived as a way to drive traffic during a historically quiet weekend, HoCo Fest became a celebration of local music, arts, and culture.

The inaugural HoCo Fest coincided with the 20th anniversary of Hotel Congress, and David leveraged his extensive network of musicians and artists to put together an unforgettable lineup. The festival featured a mix of reunion performances, new acts, and special collaborations, drawing crowds from across the region. Its success was immediate, and HoCo Fest quickly became an annual highlight.

Over its 18-year run, HoCo Fest showcased the best of Tucson’s creative scene, offering a unique blend of performances and experiences. David’s innovative approach and ability to galvanize the community ensured that HoCo Fest was not just an event but a celebration of everything that makes Tucson special.

SAMHA: Supporting Artists and Musicians

David Slutes’ commitment to the arts extended beyond events and festivals. Recognizing the need for healthcare support among artists and musicians, he helped to launch the Southern Arizona Musicians and Artists Healthcare Alliance (SAMHA). This initiative aimed to provide financial assistance and healthcare resources to those who contribute so much to Tucson’s cultural landscape.

SAMHA brought together a dedicated board of busy professionals who shared David’s passion for supporting the creative community. Despite their hectic schedules, the board members worked tirelessly to fundraise and allocate resources to artists in need. The alliance has had a significant impact, offering a safety net for those who often lack access to affordable healthcare.

David’s work with SAMHA reflects his deep understanding of the challenges faced by artists and his commitment to creating a supportive environment where creativity can flourish. The alliance stands as a testament to his dedication to the well-being of Tucson’s artistic community.

Looking Ahead: David Slutes’ Vision for the Future

David Slutes may be stepping away from his role at Hotel Congress, but his influence on downtown Tucson is far from over. In our interview, he hinted at exciting new ventures and projects that promise to continue his legacy of innovation and community engagement.

One of David’s boldest ideas is the transformation of a mining scar on a mountain into an outdoor amphitheater. This vision exemplifies his ability to see potential where others might see obstacles, turning a blemish into a cultural asset. He believes that such a venue could become a landmark for Tucson, attracting visitors and serving as a hub for local events.

David also spoke about the evolving landscape of downtown Tucson, highlighting the growth of new developments and the emergence of vibrant corridors connecting different parts of the city. He remains optimistic about the future, confident that downtown Tucson is on the cusp of a new era of creativity and community spirit.

While details of his new projects are still under wraps, David assured us that they will align with his long-standing commitment to fostering a thriving cultural scene. As he embarks on this next chapter, the community eagerly awaits the unveiling of his latest contributions to the urban complex.

A Legacy of Creativity and Community

David Slutes has been a cornerstone of downtown Tucson for nearly three decades, leaving a legacy of creativity, resilience, and community spirit. His contributions through Second Saturdays, HoCo Fest, and SAMHA have enriched the lives of countless residents and visitors, making downtown Tucson a vibrant and dynamic place.

As we celebrate our 300th episode, we invite you to listen to this inspiring conversation with David Slutes and reflect on the impact one person can have on a community. David’s story is a reminder that with vision, dedication, and a touch of creativity, we can transform our surroundings and create lasting positive change.

👉 Listen to part 1 of our interview with David Slutes now on Spotify, iTunes, iHeart Radio, and more: SaLUTES to 300 – Part 1

Call to Action

For more information about this episode or other incredible initiatives coming to the Tucson Urban Complex, contact Tom Heath today. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram.

Tom Heath
Good morning. It’s a beautiful Sunday in the Old Pueblo. And you’re listening to Katy. Tucson. Thank you for spending a part of your brunch hour with us on your downtown Tucson community. Sponsor. All volunteer powered. Or I can world radio station. This week it’s take two of part two of episode 300. Yeah. Last week, something happened to the audio.

Tom Heath
We did not have a show, so we’re going to redo it because it’s 300. And our feature today is the interview with David Sleuths. We started a couple of weeks ago. And we’re talking today about his impact and community in Tucson that transcends his work at Hotel Congress. It’s July 7th, 2024. My name is Tom Heath, and you’re listening to Life Along the Streetcar.

Tom Heath
Each and every Sunday, our focus is on social, cultural and economic impacts on Tucson’s urban core, and we shed light on hidden gems everyone should know about. For about the University of Arizona and all stops in between, you get the inside track right here on 99.1 FM streaming at Downtown radio.org. Also available on your iPhone or Android if you get our Downtown Radio Tucson app.

Tom Heath
And if you want to interact with us here on the show, we recommend you do that on Facebook and Instagram. And if you want information about us, listen to some past episodes or figure out how to get a copy of that book we did, you can head over to our web page, Life Along the Street car.org, and we invite you to listen to the podcast on all kinds of platforms like Spotify, iTunes, iHeart radio.

Tom Heath
ET cetera. Well, today is part two, take two. Last week was supposed to be a 300th episode, wrapping up the month of June, and something happened with the audio. We got none of the, interview with David Suits was playing, so it’s just this weird me talking and then a bunch of silence. Thank heavens. DJ Bank was in the studio, caught it and threw on some music.

Tom Heath
So he, did have dead air out there the the whole afternoon, but, wanted to make sure we got this interview, and it was really, we’re appreciative of David for taking so much time and wanted to make sure we share this with you. The, the idea is this is a salutes to 300, because this is, I guess, now technically our 300th episode in July.

Tom Heath
And wanted to thank David, for his time at Hotel Congress 27 years, which we talked about on, the June 23rd show. And, this week, the the interview has more to do with his work that is outside of the hotel. Things that transfer and his work there. But, are impactful, impactful in our, in our community.

Tom Heath
So we’re gonna jump into that. But I do want to give a quick shout out and thank you to Downtown Radio for letting us, be a part of this, journey for the last 300 shows. So thank you to James Portis, our production specialist, who, as I mentioned in the, the show last week, which which was somewhat abbreviated, he just makes things happen.

Tom Heath
He takes over after the show is recorded. So nothing but, blame to place on me. And once the show is complete, he takes it and gets it out into the world. And of course, thank you to Ryan Hood, who from day one has allowed us to use their show other song, Dillinger Days to discuss, to open our horror, our show each week and deal with your days has to do with the event that takes place at Hotel Congress, for which our next guest here spent 27 years.

Tom Heath
And we covered most of that on, our June 23rd episode. But here’s part two of our interview with David Suits in our salutes to 300 show.

David Slutes
If anything, I was good at quantity of programing and it’s always been a dream of mine, you know? I mean, we ended up last year, we looked at my ticket sales and said we did 1251 ticketed shows last year.

Tom Heath
Last year.

David Slutes
1251.

Tom Heath
Last year, July 30th and 65 days in the year. Right. Okay.

David Slutes
Do the math. And yeah, I mean, those are ticketed events, not the free things and the other things. And so we you need all that Space and Arthur event coming in and doing his remarkable job. And the people we’ve had working there and, and the people who, I think that like the Patrick Cardenas is and the maggots, all these people have been on the staff and know how to pivot and move.

David Slutes
And there’s there’s a special quality to people who work there. They know it’s you. I hope you like to work, and I hope you like the fun action and hope you like chaos, because I’ve got it for you. So, and that’s Congress.

Tom Heath
How has your staff been as a bit. I know Patrick’s been there for quite a while. Have you seen, do you have a you’ve mentioned a few names, people that have kind of been sort of those those backbone of for that time frame.

David Slutes
Well, you know, I’ll be quite honest. And I think it’s really the Covid thing. Like anything it’s a weakness. They see we lost a lot of great people, you know, there’s always the consistency of the also rans. And there from.

Tom Heath
An employment standpoint, not. Yeah, not just the.

David Slutes
People, the people that are there. We have, thank God we have Patrick. Of course we have Barb Trujillo, who has been a stalwart. She will probably take she, I think, not take seniority there. She’s been there. She says she got there 96th year. I think she got there a little later. But there’s it’s a debate. We’ll have kind.

Tom Heath
Of the whole hour Perry thing. Yeah. She was pretty close. But you you beat her just a little bit.

David Slutes
But I mean, she’s still there, which is great. And some of those consistent characters and and a few of the employees. And then a lot of these employees who’ve left and then come back and left and come back. The gravity of Congress is pretty intense. This place is crazy. And they think it the go away someplace, get bored and come back because.

Tom Heath
They miss the place is.

David Slutes
Crazy. Love it. And we’ve had some of those those those figures. But you know, through it all. Oh, Syrians who’ve been there, you know, myself and the others, the anchors of the thing that that things you could always count on rely on there.

Tom Heath
So, and when I first moved downtown, I did one north fifth and my patio was overlooked, the hotel Congress.

David Slutes
So my.

Tom Heath
Apologies. And it was fun. I enjoyed it. The only thing I didn’t like was the karaoke night, because it’s very late now. Sunday night, challenging vocals and stuff, I, I got used to everything else. And, but I, I, I got to I literally oversaw the transition of the parking lot and those types of things and then something I think it’s been happening.

Tom Heath
But with that conversion, something really intensified, which was this idea of a festival, an event space. And all of a sudden now we’ve got, multiple different events. We’re celebrating corners, celebrating a god that we’re doing these things that take out the, the out, the take that is this. Now the stage and the courtyard become the center of a much larger festival that takes up faith into all.

Tom Heath
And and it was at something.

David Slutes
That was among my if I had written a mission statement, it would be inclusive. Everyone’s owns this thing. The event focused the whole way through. It was always, I mean, I said, this is people don’t back then specific really, they didn’t come back downtown. You had to make a reason for it. So let’s give them a lot of reasons to come down.

David Slutes
Let’s start saying that what’s going on there and events, events, events. And that was into this. To this day, I still think it’s a great model with when you have competition, you can always you can have all the competition in the world with all the money in the world, but they cannot create you. If you’re creative, you can always create and they can steal ideas.

David Slutes
They can do whatever. But once that, it’s like a cut rose. Once that rose is out there, go ahead, take it. You got to grow another one. And that was I think we were pretty good at doing.

Tom Heath
Yeah. You had a nice floral shop going over there. You still do stuff. You still do. And I, Are you okay on time? I intended. There’s so much I want to cover, and I think this is going to end up being, like, a two part episode. If that’s okay, that’s fine. You’re sorting popular. I can’t keep up because you you you touched on give people a reason to come downtown.

Tom Heath
Something else that I don’t think a lot of people maybe knew that you were heavily involved with. Was Second Saturday.

David Slutes
Correct? Yeah, we’re a founding board member of that. And that’s in a big transition now too. So we’re looking at I don’t know, where we’re at, but I mean, that’s that I mean, we started that and it was hugely successful and we were really proud of that. Fletcher hoon, Brandy, Dom Durbin, of course. You know, that was a big you know, I could go on a side tangent about Don Durbin and how important he was to downtown.

David Slutes
And, I still want to call him up and and and and gossip and get ideas.

Tom Heath
And we we we lost Don. You know, I interviewed him a couple of times regarding what most are, like parking and things of that nature. And, and, it wasn’t until he passed and I knew he was heavily involved in downtown. It wasn’t till he passed that I really kind of dove in to do a show about him, and I was like, oh, my goodness gracious.

Tom Heath
This man. He lived and breathed and intention, it was intentionality went out to make the downtown better. Do what? Just wasn’t here for a ride. He he went out and he.

David Slutes
Didn’t have the title. He found or always found roles downtown. And he was one of the greatest connectors were a great resource because he knew everybody and knew everything. And he never it wasn’t he could have had the, you know, the the downtown mayor title. I mean, he was just were controlling some other, you know, that functionary that does everything, you know, he was amazing and I miss him dearly.

David Slutes
I mean, he was he was he was he’s going to be missed. He is.

Tom Heath
Absolutely. And you could see, you know, that’s a whole different topic, but you can see is, you know, this is this presence is certainly missed in ways that you didn’t realize that he was an influential I, I think that’s what’s going to happen with you. And I don’t know if you can share it all about you. You’re like, you’re are you leaving downtown?

Tom Heath
I use are you, are you are you?

David Slutes
I am leaving downtown. Kind of staying in Tucson. Well, I’m starting a new project that I think is going to delight, I will be announcing soon the whole thing, you know, you know, I want to talk to. There’s a lot of people you want to make sure know about. You know.

Tom Heath
I don’t I don’t I don’t want to. I just was just curious because I think talking about Donovan in his absence, when and not that you’ll be completely out of our lives because we can call you and say, hey, how did you turn on the lights in the back room again? Like, know what?

David Slutes
To your situational knowledge that, you know, that’s hard to replace. I get that part. And so I in fact, today I was at Congress helping change out the voice, the phone machine so they could say closer summer hours. I did that for them today. I mean, I, I still love them. I still love the place. And I be.

Tom Heath
Signing off right. And anyway, I probably we got it. We got off, I want to get back to second Saturday because that was when you started. Was it second Saturday? Was it downtown Saturday night or what was that?

David Slutes
Well, the predecessor was downtown Saturday night okay. And you know, Donovan is part of that. And then we realized it. You know, I my memory is rusty, but it’s it’s sort of ended, you know, for whatever reason. And we all felt we especially then, you know, 15 years ago that we could need to so needed downtown needed this event again in something with a lot of energy, with buy in from the vendors and businesses.

David Slutes
And, we got a group together of people who were pretty excited about it and a great group. And, you know, Fletcher’s obviously a giant part of that. I mean, but all the other people, the honeys and Brandi’s and dance and Michael Keith, you know, all these people at the time especially, were very active downtown, a really good group of, smart folks.

David Slutes
And off it went. And it just took off and it was doing great. It’s been doing great.

Tom Heath
So, yeah. And I, I do think as you mentioned, I think it was June. I don’t believe they had it in June.

David Slutes
We had to would we would define the finances and some other issues have come up. And there’s a transition happening too, which I mean, it’s not locked in, but I think there might be a very interesting, evolution to it actually coming.

Tom Heath
So there’s rumors that second Saturday was done, but that’s not true. The second.

David Slutes
Nexus. No, it’s there’s going to be a, something that emerges out, I wonder for sure. Yeah.

Tom Heath
Good.

David Slutes
You’ll see.

Tom Heath
It’s got all these teasers, like all of us.

David Slutes
I know I’m giving you all nothing. They got nothing. I have all this stuff and nothing.

Tom Heath
You should run for office. You’re answering all my question for not telling me anything.

David Slutes
It’s my pleasure.

Tom Heath
Well, I guess we do have some teasers here to work out over the next few weeks as more of this information becomes available. If you’re just joining us, we’re in our 300th episode, and we’re towards the tail end of a two part series with David Sleuths talking about his time as a, program director. And, just really jack of all trades for hotel Congress over 27 year career and been moving into his work with Second Saturdays and other of ventures downtown.

Tom Heath
Oh, my name is Tom Heath and you are listening to lifelong the Streetcar, downtown radio 99.1 FM, and we’re streaming on downtown radio.org.

Tom Heath
Welcome back as we’re going to wrap up this, two day interview for parts All Together. We’re in the very last segment here with David Salutes, 27 year veteran at Hotel Congress. And I’m moving on to, a new venture, which hopefully we’ll find out more, in the, in the near future as, as, the details become made public.

Tom Heath
Until then, we’re going to celebrate his history and impact in downtown on a show we’re calling us salutes to 300 as we also celebrate our 300th show on downtown radio. That that again, it was a reason for people to come downtown and it taps into the things that people wanted downtown the music, the food. And then you brought in really kind of that first iteration of retail.

Tom Heath
And by bringing vendors into to.

David Slutes
Write down and shop, too, I mean, and that was that one piece we’ve always felt and, and so grateful for spaces like we’re in right now, it’s, you know, we can how many bars can you have, how many restaurants you need? You need more things. You need more retail. You need more other stuff. And so I still have to believe that there’s still a, a potential here in town.

David Slutes
I really believe it.

Tom Heath
Yeah. I mean, being on the retail side, we definitely feel like we’re sort of at that. That very bottom rung of where it can be. We’re glad it’s here, but it’s certainly there’s a lot of room for growth on it. But with you, the second Saturday, I’ll tell Congress all the programing, all the music’s, all these connections that you have where there are other projects.

Tom Heath
I mean, I’m sure there were like, besides the festivals and other, like no time. That’s all I did was arrange all the festivals the second Saturday and coordinate choirs. I had 12 minutes free.

David Slutes
But also yeah, I don’t lot. I mean I at the at about the same time we started the Southern Artists and Musicians Health Care Alliance with a lot of great people, which, still exist today and we’re still funding people. It’s a great a it’s a great organization that is, has a lot of, very busy board members who can’t attend anything.

David Slutes
So it’s you want to get these people some money? We’d love to, and it’s great. You know, and the other big festivals we started, like the HoCo fest and the things like that, that I got off the ground. Those are. Those are my babies, too, which I was very proud of.

Tom Heath
And yeah, I think HoCo Fest, that was that was another one of those intentional things. You got a long weekend and like trying to drive traffic on a typically slow weekend. I think it’s the slowest weekend.

David Slutes
In fact, we took Labor Day weekend, which was historically the slowest weekend. And so, well, what can we do? Let’s do something local and special and cool. And the original one was the, I, you know, and right about that time, 20 years prior the Congress opened, I said, why don’t we do the 20th anniversary? And, I called up all the as many old bands as I because I knew everybody, right?

David Slutes
I called up everyone, put some bands together, did some of those. He’ll do it. Yeah. He said he will. Did he? He said he do it. Yeah, he said he will. Those kind of, you know, calls to get bands together.

Tom Heath
Just like a politician.

David Slutes
Yeah. It’s just like life first and get the job done. You don’t eat how the sausage is made. But then we had it and was a huge success the first year, hugely successful. And then it ran for 18 years. And it was, I’m really proud of that one for sure.

Tom Heath
The just the, the, the impact of, of downtown. You know, the one thing that I’ve learned, I’m doing this show for a few years is that everything has a ripple effect, good and bad. And it’s, it’s you see what you see on the surface of that old iceberg analogy, which you see on the surface is just a, an inkling of the amount of effort and impact that goes into making something like that because you bring someone downtown.

Tom Heath
You mentioned early bring downtown a group of people that don’t normally come downtown. They happen to have dinner at a place that they like, and they want to come down more than they bring their friends. And all of a sudden you build these trends and it starts with something like hotel Congressman, Rialto Theater suffering through those downtimes and, it creating a reason for people to come down.

Tom Heath
And then you made it cool. And then as old people wanted to come down because it was cool. And then saying, you’d better restaurants because we’re old and we don’t like the.

David Slutes
It just felt like enough activity and enough stuff going on and oh, we could probably poke around a little bit too. And that’s what downtown, you know, our dream of downtown has always been.

Tom Heath
Where there ever any opportunities along the way that maybe he thought about pulling out. And, you know, I don’t know, I think I’ve.

David Slutes
Been offered a couple things over the but I thought I was going to be buried there still might be buried there because it’s still very much. But I mean, I thought that was probably but, tantalizing things come along and, you know, and I look for my life. It’s like I had a wonderful musician career. I had this wonderful thing here, and I still like I had one arrow left in the quiver.

Tom Heath
Yeah. The third act. Yeah. Can’t get to you if I want to. Understanding a good play always has that third act. Yeah. Are there things in downtown that that you see coming that we’re not aware of, or are there things that we should be thinking about that we’re not? Yeah, that’s. Yes.

David Slutes
Yes, yes, Tom. That’s correct.

Tom Heath
The answer is yes they are.

David Slutes
There’s some exciting new developments that I’m aware of. And I can’t believe you’ve hit on all three NDAs of mine.

Tom Heath
So that’s my job. Right?

David Slutes
But yeah.

Tom Heath
So I get there is more.

David Slutes
Exciting stuff coming downtown that I know of. I think there’s going to be I think we’re right at the cusp of a new change. And remember, I’m very gotta remember, I’m a downtown or I live downtown and I’m still very curious and keep my ears around and offer advice and whatever when people come with ideas. So I’m excited for downtown and I still see I see this next evolution about to happen.

David Slutes
I mean, if you look at it too, you have this new development as sixth Street goes this way and stuff, and there’s stuff going up, the other way, up to five points, right? There’s, there’s this almost a corridor. Oh, absolutely. That, that it’s triggers off.

Tom Heath
Of even the sunshine, even the sunshine Mile, even though it’s a ways out. I mean, it starts to push people in this direction.

David Slutes
It certainly it’s so this is still the anchor, you know. So I’m, I’m I’m hopeful and I know there’s things.

Tom Heath
Can you share like is it music related. Music related. Okay. All right. I am not going to push any farther because I know.

David Slutes
Now I get I can’t answer much farther. But yeah, some fun stuff.

Tom Heath
All right.

David Slutes
So what else? What else can I talk about?

Tom Heath
Apparently nothing. Apparently nothing. So what can you tell me about any top secret government and programs that are happening down here? Yes, yes, yes. Well.

David Slutes
No, I do not. I’ve not threatened to do that.

Tom Heath
Do you know where the aliens are buried? Yeah, and I know where they crashed their their saucer under the side of a mountain.

David Slutes
Right. And they can’t remove it, so they’ve covered it up.

Tom Heath
There you go. That’s what I meant.

David Slutes
So tell me about this. Tell me about this idea. How have you. You know, this is something I’ve wanted to do forever. And I still think it’s a great idea. The big mining, the scar on a mountain. Why can’t we just make a venue out of that? Those red rocks.

Tom Heath
There you go.

David Slutes
Black rock. That’s Tucson means black rock, right? Call black when you drive down town on I-10. You see this beautiful outdoor amphitheater instead of this hole in the ground. Isn’t that a good idea?

Tom Heath
I’m with you.

David Slutes
I’m throwing that out there. I’m not going to. I’m giving it to the world. It’s, you.

Tom Heath
Know. Well, there you go. The one thing that he can talk about is not underway. But you should make it. You should make it happen.

David Slutes
I know I I’ve talked to a few people about it and then I started, you know, poking around the neighborhood to see who might buy in. But there’s parking. And then you have the convento and situated it all the way downtown. It stretches. I know that’s dreams.

Tom Heath
Well, I, I never stop. I love the I love the creativity. That’s, I think that the I don’t know, that’s the musician side of you or the musician came from the creative side of you, but but that creativity has carried throughout. And as you said earlier, you can outspend someone, but you can’t out create somebody. True. Well, I was going to ask if there are any projects left undone that you wanted to see is.

Tom Heath
But you’ve already hit on the amphitheater an amount so.

David Slutes
Right. So I put that because you reached. You’ve been reaching a lot more people, Tom. I think I want to open.

Tom Heath
I’m up to four people now. Yeah, I’m up to four.

David Slutes
Well, three gets a double digit, so we might be.

Tom Heath
Able to get you. I think it’s three because my mom probably stopped listening. She’s like, I’m done, I’m done. This is like the.

David Slutes
This is like what, 300 or 3.

Tom Heath
Hundred episodes of I’m done. I’m taking all your grade school drawing. I think it’s.

David Slutes
A great I think it’s a I think people care. You talk to all the neat people and you get a lot of good insight here.

Tom Heath
So I appreciate you sharing so much of, of, of your time with us today. We’re definitely going to catch up with you once we find out more. I know what your project is in downtown, but you are downtown and then you still live down here.

David Slutes
You said yes, right? We live downtown. I moved my family down here. And I don’t plan to move it. Nice. We love it downtown.

Tom Heath
We might actually see you more down here because you won’t be in hotel. Congressman.

David Slutes
I’ll actually go to shows.

Tom Heath
Oh, what do you know about that? They know that. And, I hope you have. They hope they make you pay the cover to the better. Not they. If you finish the wine list, I should give you a little bit of, of a break on that. Well, David salutes you had a going away party. I could not make it.

Tom Heath
And as I told you earlier, I think everyone in town was there but me, so I’m sorry I missed it, but you had a great line, and it sounds like you enjoyed your time there.

David Slutes
It was, it was teary eyed. They got to, hundreds of people. It was really like a celebration of life. But I got to see it. Everyone is so kind and, proclamation. And the people I don’t know was.

Tom Heath
There was a proclamation. Proclamation? Like an official proclamation.

David Slutes
Marina, throw it a little.

Tom Heath
Look at that.

David Slutes
I know, it’s like. It’s like, you know, guys, I just put bands that not. It’s like. But I appreciate it. Yeah, it was great. It was a wonderful thing. Great turnout, great celebrate. It just showed off all the cool things about Congress. I laughed, you know, all the energy, the creative energy, the artists, musicians and it it just, it would coalesce that night into a really nice, great sendoff.

David Slutes
I just I’ll never forget it.

Tom Heath
Well, the, the curtain is coming down on act two, but, just take an intermission, go out, get a refreshment, come back in, and we’ll we’ll see what happens here in act three. That’s right. David. Appreciate your time, sir.

David Slutes
Thanks, Don.

Tom Heath
David salutes recently of hotel Congress and soon, involved in another venture in our community. And as soon as we have those details, we’ll share it with you. I was unable to attend his, farewell party and thank you, sendoff, but I talked to many people who were there, and, it was very sweet, emotional and, exhilarating all rolled into one.

Tom Heath
And, and I think that’s what you, you hope to have when you have these types of transitions, just all kinds of positive vibes, sadness for what we’re not able to, to keep a hold of, but happiness and excitement for what’s coming down the road. My name is Tom Heath and you’re listening to life Along the Streetcar on Downtown Radio 99.1 FM, and we’re streaming on Downtown radio.org.

Tom Heath
Thank you very much. Enjoy your evening. Bye bye. Well, I got to hang out with brother Mark. Earlier in the week, we had, all hands on deck meeting here with the downtown radio volunteers. And, of course, not all 50, of the show hosts and DJs could make it to some, but we had a good, good representation, in the, the warehouse there where we have our station in the basement.

Tom Heath
We met talk through, a quarterly update on where things are with the station and, ways for for us to do even more and better things. Was excited to see some of the DJ step up. Not me. To to do some more work and take on some tasks. And I just sat quietly in the corner and said, you go, you take that on.

Tom Heath
But, it is it is truly remarkable the amount of, energy and spirit that that comes with this all volunteer effort, not a paid person on staff. Wonderful, wonderful. Again, celebrating 300th episode with our, host, our guest today, David salutes. If you want to listen to the first half of that interview, which talks about sort of his rise at Hotel Congress.

Tom Heath
You can do so over on our, our page there life along streetcar.org. Well, we are, thankful to many people to make this show happen, Ryan Hood being one of them for letting us use their song Dillinger Days. All these 300 episodes. As I mentioned at the beginning, James Portis is our production specialist. My name is Tom Heath.

Tom Heath
I’m your host and producer, and we’re going to leave you some music today by The Sidewinders. It’s David Sweet’s band started playing back in the 80s, and, the song title I think is very appropriate for us here at downtown. What are we supposed to do? I hope you have a great weekend. Tune in next Sunday for more life along streetcar destination.