Based on the context provided and the biographical details within the transcript (specifically the mention of being "Cirrus's first intern" and a "young engineer" who moved with the company in 1993), the speaker is **Pat Waddick**, the former President of Innovation & Operations at Cirrus Aircraft. While he is not a member of the city staff listed, he is speaking here in his capacity as a representative of Hermantown's largest employer during a city presentation. [0:01] Pat Waddick: I think at the time it was about being part of something unique and special where you actually felt like you could change the world. I'm Cirrus's first intern. [0:16] Pat Waddick: I started flying very passionate about airplanes and aviation and I came to know about this small company uh a little startup that just moved from a barn in southeastern Wisconsin that was working on a new airplane design. The big uh turn for us was shifting from the experimental aircraft world to actually designing uh certified aircraft that would go into production. For a young engineer, that was one of the most exciting inflection points to be part of. We moved to Hermantown in 1993. I couldn't have imagined a better place to come. It had everything that our team would need to be successful. We needed an ability to have a community that's able to grow with the company. there's [1:03] Pat Waddick: been um not just great alignment with the uh the b local area businesses in helping to support them and what their needs are as they grow, but also when you look at something as important as housing. This was really kind of the place that could support ongoing growth over time and now we've grown to be over 2600 uh people strong. The economic benefit, for example, that comes with a company like Cirrus includes all these different aspects. Of course, you have the the growth of the employees, bringing employees to the community and helping these communities um grow, but there's other interesting things like there's a number of companies in this area that establish themselves to actually become our suppliers. And so, [1:49] Pat Waddick: they're building an employee base. They're bringing in goods and materials into this area. When you think about Cirrus in Hermantown, it's not just Cirrus. It's all of these other business entities around us that are helping to make this whole thing work. [2:08] Pat Waddick: It's been fun to watch and Hermantown has been incredibly supportive every step of the way.