[applause] i'm grateful that tom carper is here as well: treasurer, -- with martha. as tom said to me, what else was i going to do? [laughter] a treasurer, congressman, governor, senator, the last vietnam veteran to serve in the u.s. senate. [applause] no one in our state, no one in our history has won more statewide elections than tom carper, and in every one of these roles, he is left big shoes to fill. [applause] senator carper, you probably don't remember this, but i taught a seventh grader named brian. he came to school one day as static. he had just started a new school baseball team and brian was a star. his mentor had told them he was buying uniforms for the whole team. which caused exuberance not just for brian in our classroom, but across school. his mentor's name was tom carper. [applause] i also want to thank one of the most dedicated public servants in delaware's history. i want to thank him for his lifelong commitment to uplifting the people of our state, our country, and the world. i want to thank him for repeatedly coming to my high school as a senator