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Program Speakers
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John Tyson covers rural Nevada like no one else can. As a reporter for News Channel 8, John has spent close to two decades driving an average of 3,000 miles every month searching for the stories that reflect the best of Nevada's true character. Viewers will recognize the native Pennsylvanian from his special reports, John Tyson's Journal. A former working cowboy and Brand Inspector for the State of Nevada, John is used to covering the state at sagebrush level. John and his wife Patty live in Virginia City, Nevada. John is also a locomotive engineer and when not at his home you can usually find him running engines #40 and #93 on the Nevada Northern Railway in Ely, Nevada, or chartering out his private railway business car "The Metis."
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Senator John Ensign has served the people of Nevada from his days as a veterinarian, small business owner, and U.S. Congressman to his present role as the 24th U.S. Senator for Nevada.
Senator Ensign was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000 and serves on the following committees: Budget; Commerce, Science and Transportation; Finance; and Veterans Affairs. After his re-election in 2006, Ensign was selected by his Senate Republican colleagues to be Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a select leadership position offering Nevada a seat at the table.Throughout his career Ensign has fought for smaller, more effective government, lower taxes, a strong national defense and aggressive approach to combating terrorists, increased parental control in education choices, and quality health care for Nevada's seniors and veterans.
Senator Ensign was raised in northern Nevada and moved to southern Nevada where he graduated from Clark High School. He attended UNLV and earned a Bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University. He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University in 1985. Senator Ensign immediately began practicing veterinary medicine and opened the first 24-hour animal hospital in Las Vegas.
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Since Nevadans elected him to the Senate in 1986, Harry Reid has developed a reputation as a consensus builder and a skillful legislator. Even his Republican colleagues praise his reasoned, balanced approach. Today Harry Reid is the Democratic Leader in the U.S. Senate, a man who commands the respect of colleagues from both parties, and a powerful advocate for Nevada’s middle-class families. The Las Vegas Sun newspaper summarized Reid’s story by saying that he “has gone from underdog to Senate’s top dog.” To understand Harry Reid, you must look to the small mining town of Searchlight, Nevada. Searchlight is where Harry Reid watched his father work as a hardrock miner. It’s where he attended a school with one teacher for eight grades. And it’s where he learned Nevada values like hard work, opportunity and independence. Senator Reid attended Nevada Boys’ State as a high school junior.
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Charles McNeely has served as Reno City Manager since March 4, 1996. Under his leadership the City of Reno has risen to national prominence as a model for local government. McNeely has over 26 years of executive level management experience. He served ten years as City Manager of Seaside, California, before moving to Reno. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and a Master's degree in Public Administration, both from the University of Kansas.
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Steven M. Smith was officially promoted to head the Clark County Fire Department at a badge pinning ceremony on February 1, 2006. He is the eighth fire chief for the state’s largest fire department and one of the nation’s most visible.
Chief Smith, who has worked for the department since 1980, has been a county battalion chief since 1997. Battalion chief is the highest-ranking suppression position in the department. As battalion chief, he managed emergency response efforts at significant incidents, coordinated the training, inspections, community service requests and staffing of equipment for about 60 fire personnel in nine stations. Before that, he worked as a fire captain, a fire engineer and a firefighter/paramedic.
Chief Smith, a former U.S. Marine, has been an active member of the community. He is involved in awarding an annual scholarship through the UNLV Athletic Foundation and three academic scholarships through the Clark County Public Education Foundation. He also has lent his support to the annual Susan G. Komen Foundation “Breast Cancer Run” and to Child Haven, a county facility for abused and neglected children. He is married to Jill Smith and has two sons.
Chief Smith oversees a fire department that is responsible for protecting the Las Vegas Strip, the largest part of the Las Vegas Valley, and a county the size of New Jersey. The department’s total service area encompasses 7,910 square miles with an urban planning area of 293 square miles. In addition, the fire department also maintains one of only 28 Urban Search & Rescue Teams in the country, provides fire and rescue services to the nation’s sixth-busiest airport and maintains heavy rescue and hazardous materials teams.
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