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Thank you so much.

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It's so fun to go
after Director Ayala

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because she's someone I've known
and respected for a long time.

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Good afternoon, good
morning, good evening.

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My name is Councilmember
Dion Foster,

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and I have the pleasure
of serving as the chair

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of the Housing, Arts, and
Civil Rights Committee.

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And I get to be here today
to talk to you about

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Office of Arts and Culture
Director Amy Nguyen.

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Am I right or am I right?

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So here's the thing
about Director Nguyen.

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White Center's own.

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White Center in the house?

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I can tell you she's got a
master's in urban policy

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and a bachelor's in
urban studies from the

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New School in New York.

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I can tell you that she spent
more than a decade leading

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here locally in OPCD, in arts
and culture, in community.

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I can tell you
that she is smart.

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She is intelligent.

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She is connected.

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But by the applause, you
all already know this.

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So let me tell you some
things you might not

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know about Director Nguyen.

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Sorry, friend.

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She has the best Zoom background
I have ever seen in my life.

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You get on a call with her and
you're talking about the future

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of arts and culture in the
city, and then you're met with

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this background of arts
and culture in the city.

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And she brings this
integrity, this connection,

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and this spirit of fun that
we all need so much in

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our lives doing the incredibly
difficult work that we do.

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Let me tell you a second thing
about director Amy Nguyen.

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She brought me the most
fun I have had in council

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chambers in this job.

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Sorry to everybody else.

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During her confirmation process
because the chambers was

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full of people with her
face on popsicle sticks.

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And you could feel both the art,
the creativity, and the spirit

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of joy that Amy brings with
with her and you could feel the

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spirit of community in chambers.

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I'll tell you, I walked
out into chambers that

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day and it was so full,
I turned to my clerk

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and I was like, "Do we
have something on the

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agenda that I forgot about?"

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I was like, "No, those
are Amy's people."

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I was like, "Okay."

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So know that when Amy leads the
Office of Arts and Culture,

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she's not just standing there
as a singular director,

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she is standing there with
hundreds of community

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members behind her, And
she is thinking about the

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thousands and the hundreds
of thousands of residents

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that our city serves with
the spirit of service that

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she brings to that office.

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So it is my pleasure
to get to introduce.

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I think I'm introducing her.

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I'm going to do it.

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It's my pleasure to invite
Director Amy Nguyen here

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to share a few words.

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Thank you so much
for your service.

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Even with heels on, I got
to move the mic down here.

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Wow, that was such a
fantastic introduction.

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So I'm going to
take a moment here.

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and I want to also start by
thanking you, Mayor Wilson,

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for this profound opportunity.

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All the council members
here, I am so honored

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to get to work alongside you
over these next several years.

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My colleagues and
friends, family,

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and my Office of Arts
and Culture staff,

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you've turned out
again and again.

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And I don't want us
to sound like a cult,

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but I feel like Kelly
Davidson, my deputy,

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you can also attest to
this, you never get away

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from the Office of Arts
and Culture, you just keep

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coming back.

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So thank you for
being here today, and

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thank you for the trust
you have placed in me.

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It is an honor to stand
alongside this remarkable

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group of public servants
as we take this oath

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together. While we lead
different departments,

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we share a common
responsibility to help shape

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the future of Seattle
and improve the lives of

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the people who call this home.

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My path to this
moment has come full

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circle. I was born in
White Center, grew up in

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Seattle. Some of my earliest
memories are looking out

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over Jackson Street from
my grandfather's SRO.

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I spent afternoons
playing cards at

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Magic Dragon on 23rd Ave.

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For the Vietnamese
folks, it was 13.

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Yeah, you know that.

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And my perspective widened
by long evenings on

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Rainier, learning photography
in the darkroom, and

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discovering the power
of creative expression.

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At the time, I
didn't realize those

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experiences were shaping
how I understood cities and

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communities. It wasn't until
I left Seattle to study

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urban policy and planning
in New York that I fully

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appreciated what this
city had given me.

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I came to understand
that people don't

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solely fall in love with
the city because of its

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exceptional policies, plans,
or infrastructure alone.

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They fall in love with a
city because of how it

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makes them feel.

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Through the places that hold

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memories, through culture and
tradition, through music, art,

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food, language, and community,
through the people who

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make place feel like home.

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Over the past decade, I've had
the privilege of serving Seattle

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in many department roles.

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Across every position, I've
carried the same question.

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How do we meet the needs of a
growing city while preserving

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the culture, creativity,
and sense of belonging that

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make people love this place?

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This is why I believe arts
and culture are essential

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civic infrastructure.

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Arts and culture help us
understand who we are,

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imagine who we can become.

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They help young people
discover their voice.

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They strengthen neighborhoods
and local economies.

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They preserve stories
and traditions.

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And they create opportunities
for people to see themselves

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and one another with great
empathy and understanding.

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Over the next three years, I
guess three and a half, my

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commitment is to champion
artists, cultural

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organizations, and communities

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and to ensure that arts
and culture remain central

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to how we build more
affordable, connected, and

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vibrant Seattle.

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I will also lead with curiosity,

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collaboration and a deep
belief that the people

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closest to our challenges are
also closest to the solutions.

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And while I have the
privilege of leading this

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office, creativity is not
confined to one department.

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Every director standing to
to hear today is engaged in

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the act of building a city.

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And a building a city
requires imagination.

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It requires us to
see possibilities

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where others see constraints,
to listen before we act,

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and to create the conditions for
future generations to thrive.

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Seattle's story is
still being written.

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I look forward to helping ensure
that artists, communities,

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and culture remain at
the heart of that story.

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Thank you.

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All right, Amy.

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You already have that right
hand up, and I love it.

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I'll get even closer to
you here so you don't

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have to move so far.

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Thank you so much.

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But you know what?

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- Actually, whatever is best
for your picture is you.

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- I don't know, Tim,
what's gonna look better?

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Like this?

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Are you ready to
repeat after me?

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- I am ready.

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- All right.

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I, Amy Nguyen.

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- I, Amy Nguyen.

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- Swear that I possess.

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- Swear that I possess.

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- All of the
qualifications prescribed.

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- All of the
qualifications prescribed.

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- In the Seattle City Charter.

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- In the Seattle City Charter.

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- And the Seattle
Municipal Code.

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And the Seattle Municipal Code.

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For the position of Director
of Arts and Culture.

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For the position of Director
of Office of Arts and Culture.

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And that I will support
the Constitution of

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the United States.

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I will support the Constitution
of the United States.

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The Constitution of the
State of Washington.

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The Constitution of the
State of Washington.

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And the Charter and Ordinances
of the City of Seattle.

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The Charter and Ordinances
of the City of Seattle.

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And that I will faithfully
conduct myself.

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I will faithfully
conduct myself.

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As Director of the Office
of Arts and Culture.

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As Director of the Office
of Arts and Culture.

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Thank you.

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Congratulations.

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I'm going to take this time.

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Can you right here?

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Such an honor to
be pinned by you.

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You're welcome.

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I don't ever do this.

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Really? I heard you
do good pinning.

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00:09:03,019 --> 00:09:04,139
No, I never do the pinning.

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It's usually a family member.

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Don't call me out for
not having a family.