[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 153 (Thursday, September 18, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S6710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Tribute to Rosemary A. Vassiliadis

  Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, today, I want to take some time to 
recognize a Nevadan and recognize specifically the legacy that Rosemary 
A. Vassiliadis has contributed to this country but to Nevada 
specifically.
  On September 12, 2025, after 40 years delivering for Southern Nevada, 
including more than 28 years as an airport leader at Clark County's 
Department of Aviation, Director Vassiliadis will retire from her 
career in public service.
  Rosemary started her career as budget chief for the city of Las Vegas 
in 1984 and has been working for her community ever since. I know; I 
have watched firsthand. I got to work side by side with her. She spent 
the last 12 years as the top executive of Harry Reid International 
Airport, leading one of the Nation's more dynamic airport systems.
  Rosemary was appointed as the first woman director of Clark County's 
Department of Aviation in 2013 after nearly 16 years as deputy 
director.
  I can't say enough about what she has contributed to Nevada, and I 
want to talk a little bit about it because, thanks in large part to her 
stewardship, Southern Nevada's aviation system has grown to a $35 
billion economic engine, employing more than 18,000 workers and serving 
as the gateway to the world's premiere tourism and convention 
destination. The system is anchored by LAS and includes four additional 
general aviation airports.
  Rosemary's vision as head of LAS emphasized the importance of the 
airport as the first and last experience visitors had of Las Vegas, and 
she prioritized efforts to enhance that customer experience for all 
travelers. She worked to expand LAS to include the D gates and terminal 
3, and her emphasis on strategic coordination helped move millions of 
travelers to the region during some of the country's largest sporting 
events, including the Super Bowl and the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand 
Prix.
  Under her leadership, the airport reached unprecedented milestones, 
including handling a record 58.4 million passengers in 2024. In the 
last 12 years, the Harry Reid International Airport has welcomed 
visitors from new international destinations and solidified its spot as 
one of North America's top 10 commercial airports.
  Rosemary has spent her career supporting the safety and security of 
all passengers and workers. During her tenure at the Clark County 
Department of Aviation, Rosemary led the airport system through 
extraordinary times, including navigating the aftermath of the 
September 11 terrorist attacks and providing continued service during 
the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Under her direction, LAS has also become a leader in the fight 
against human trafficking. I know this firsthand. As AG, I got to 
partner with her. As attorney general of Nevada, I got to partner with 
her and watch her focus on how we address this horrific human 
trafficking that is happening in this country. Rosemary was one of the 
first in her field to work with law enforcement and human trafficking 
experts to create the industry's most comprehensive initiative to train 
and educate airport employees, provide safe exit strategies for victims 
of human trafficking, and install multilingual signage in all the 
restrooms to help address this horrific, modern-day slavery that we are 
seeing.
  Additionally, LAS remains an industry leader in security programs. 
Most people don't even know this. Rosemary established a partnership 
with the Transportation Security Administration and created a unique 
testing ground for new and emerging screening technologies in a live 
checkpoint environment.
  Now, I have to stress this: This is the first and only innovation 
checkpoint, and Harry Reid Airport is designated as the Nation's only 
innovation airport. It is because of Rosemary and her team.
  Rosemary has established the foundation for the Clark County airport 
system to continue to adapt as it serves the growing Southern Nevada 
population and the visitors the community welcomes each year.
  As a lifelong Nevadan, I am so honored to have worked with Rosemary 
over so many years and greatly appreciate her tireless efforts to grow 
LAS and the Clark County airport system. Her leadership was 
revolutionary, and she will be missed.
  But I want to stress even more. It is not just the work that she did 
as a civil servant, because I think that is a noble service, and that 
is what she believed in--always giving back to her community--but 
Rosemary is also an incredible, incredible mother, friend, neighbor, 
lifelong Nevadan who truly believed in her State and her community, and 
raised a great family.
  Now I hope she has the opportunity, after all of the years she has 
given to so many people in Nevada and so many tourists--I am going to 
say to the staff I am looking at right now, if you have come to Las 
Vegas, you have come through Rosemary's airport, and this is what it is 
about: making sure that people feel loved, support. She has not only 
done it for so many tourists, international and domestic, but she has 
done it for Nevadans and her family. I am so proud of her and got a 
chance to watch firsthand her commitment to her State, her country, and 
her family.

  Rosemary, I wish you all the best. Wherever you go next, whatever the 
next chapter, know that you will always have my support and my 
friendship and I look forward to seeing what you do next.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.