we begin with 1st October.

Seven years have passed since the largest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, and now a major fundraising campaign is underway to construct a permanent memorial at the site of the shooting on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Forever One memorial will be built on two acres of the route 91 concert grounds, an area that several survivors and first responders consider sacred.

They spoke about the need for the memorial at an event to announce the fundraising efforts for it.

As someone who is there that evening, I can assure you memorials matter.

They mark the historical permanency.

They ensure the lives lost, are honored and never forgotten, and they lift up the unique stories and experiences of survivors, first responders, and the community at large.

Memorials are vital to the lifelong process of healing and grieving.

We cannot change what has happened, but we can ensure it is never forgotten.

And that is what this memorial represents.

It's a place where you can go to remember to never forget.

It's a place where emergency and first responders can go to be honored for their courage to reflect on and process the experiences they shared and the scenes of loss they witnessed.

It matters when a community comes together in a tragedy to heal.

It matters to honor the stories of those we've lost.

The 58.

The two have perished in the aftermath, and all the others who left us due to their wounds, both psychological and physical.

They must all be remembered and working to ensure that they are all remembered is Sam Nicholson, a board member for the Vegas Strong Fund that is the nonprofit in charge of raising the money for this memorial and getting it built.

Sam, what is the timeline for this?

The timeline actually is to have the ribbon cutting and the ceremony to open it on the 10th anniversary of the event, so that would be in three years.

October 1st of 2027.

And how much money do you need to raise?

Well, that's what we're trying to determine now.

We're still in the design phase of the project.

And there's there's several really important elements of this project that we're still tweaking, to make sure that that we honor those victims and the first responders appropriately.

We have one chance to get this done, right.

And we want to really want to do that.

There have been reports that it could cost tens of millions of dollars.

Is that accurate?

That is accurate.

Okay.

Your area of expertise that you bring to this board is in development.

So with your experience as a developer, how would you describe this timeline?

I think this timeline is very doable.

There the property was very generously donated by MGM.

We still have to go through entitlements there.

We still have to complete the design.

There are utilities have to be relocated on the site.

And various things that will have to happen prior to actually breaking ground.

And we have three years.

So I think that's very doable in that timeline.

Speaking about the memorial, there are so many very thoughtful elements to it.

Among them, what stands out to you?

Oh, it's absolutely the 58 candles that honor the 58 victims that took place that day.

And those candles are going to be a description of each of the victims, a photograph and, the history and the and the and, information about the person themselves and what they were and what they were about.

And will you talk about how this honors first responders and the personal connection you have to that?

Well, I was formerly a first responder back in the 80s when I was still young.

I, I was, an officer with the, state of Arizona.

And when I shifted my career back into construction and development, you just don't.

Those experiences just don't leave you.

I've always been, very passionate about, the cause and the, what first responders experience.

And I think it's truly, an honor to them for the just the horrific event that happened that night that they be honored as well for, for their heroism and the things that they did.

The magnitude of this project, how does it make you feel personally?

Oh, I get very emotional about this project because it touches me in two ways.

First, I was a former first responder, but the the the the the lives that were lost are just so tragic.

I think it would be, just unfathomable to not have a memorial that honors the victims and the first responders that day.

And that's what we're here to do.

You have experience in helping nonprofits with capital projects, with your experience in that area.

How difficult do you think this will be to get funded?

I'm very optimistic that we're going to get funded, primarily because this strikes at the heart of Las Vegas, at the heart of Clark County.

And we saw the tremendous response of support that happened after that event.

People were lined up for blocks to donate blood.

They were they were just doing anything they could to help with the survivors, with the families, with the first responders.

I have no doubt that we'll find through public and private donations, enough to make this happen.

Yeah.

At that time, so many people were asking, what can I do?

You know, here's another opportunity.

How do people donate?

Well, they can go to our website, which is for over one memorial.org, and make a donation privately if they wish.

Or they can contact us and we'd be happy to meet with them and go over that.

Sam Nicholson, thank you for joining Nevada Week.

Thank you so much.